By Richard Balmforth and Natalia Zinets KIEV (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich accused pro-European opposition leaders on Wednesday of trying to seize power by force after at least 26 people died in the worst violence since the former Soviet republic gained independence. European Union leaders condemned what they called “the unjustified use of excessive force by the Ukrainian authorities” and said they were urgently preparing targeted sanctions against those responsible for the crackdown. The White House urged Ukraine to pull back riot police, call a truce and talk to the opposition. Protesters have been occupying central Kiev for almost three months since Yanukovich spurned a far-reaching trade deal with the EU and accepted a $15-billion Russian bailout instead.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-police-charge-protesters-nation-39-bloodiest-day-002500006.html

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 19th, 2014 at 10:36 am and is filed under World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.