Bloody scenes in Ukraine clashes
Opposition activists withdrew from some occupied government buildings and
reopened several streets to traffic on the weekend after the government
released over 200 arrested protesters and promised to drop criminal charges.
Today the Verkhovaya Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, was set to debate
opposition demands for constitutional reform that which would place limits
on the sweeping powers currently enjoyed by president Viktor Yanukovych.
Protests erupted in Kyiv after Mr Yanukovych backed out of signing a
long-awaited association agreement with the European Union in late November.
Activists have been camped in central Kyiv ever since, but the movement has
morphed from a pro-European campaign into a directly anti-government effort
directed primarily at removing Mr Yanukovych from power.