A protester prepares to throw a Molotov cocktail during clashes with police in central Kiev, Ukraine, early Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014. The mass protests in Kiev, the capital, erupted after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych spurned a pact with the European Union in favor of close ties with Russia, which offered him a $15 billion bailout. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman)
January 21, 2014 - 10:49 PM
KYIV, Ukraine - Ukrainian security forces have begun dismantling barricades at the protest camp in downtown Kyiv where demonstrators and police have been facing off for two days.
Police detained some protesters and tore down barricades on Kyiv's central square early Wednesday during a heavy snowfall, in what could mark a more determined move against the demonstrators.
The two-month standoff, which has attracted hundreds of thousands of protesters to rallies in central Kyiv, began after President Viktor Yanukovych spurned a pact with the European Union in favour of close ties with Russia.
Prospects for an agreement to end the conflict dimmed Tuesday, when Yanukovych refused to personally meet with leading members of the opposition who were invited for talks.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014