Ukraine government amassing police in possible storm of EuroMaidan zone

The Ukrainian government is currently amassing police troops in a possible plan to storm the EuroMaidan, news reports said, estimating they may number about 8,000. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov warned as much on Jan. 21, stating “If the provocateurs don’t stop, the government won’t have any other option but to use force, provided by the law, and secure our people.” He said the government is very far from declaring a state of emergency, which was also affirmed yesterday by National Security and Defense Council Secretary Andriy Kliuyev.

The first two casualties of the conflicts were reported this morning, including a 20-year-old activist shot by a sniper. The other death involved a demonstrator falling off a column, the Ukrayinska Pravda news site reported. Police have arrested 50 protesters. About 1,400 demonstrators have been injured since the conflicts erupted on Jan. 19, reported Oleh Musiy, the coordinator of the medical staff of the National Resistance Headquarters. Police reported 119 officers were injured, also releasing its own photos showing officers with burns to their face and bodies caused by Molotov cocktails hurled by government opponents.

Zenon Zawada: It’s a bold move for the government to storm the EuroMaidan in the day time, when far more people are willing to join its defense. To add irony to the decision, today marks the national Unity Day holiday. One of the EuroMaidan leaders, former internal affairs minister Yuriy Lutsenko, called for storming the Presidential Administration today, but instead it looks as though the EuroMaidan will be on the defensive.

We believe the government’s claims that it won’t introduce a state of emergency simply for the reason that the soldiers of the army are unlikely to harm their fellow citizens to defend a corrupt government for which they have little loyalty to. Yet we still believe that some de facto form of a state of emergency will have to be implemented because widespread resistance to the government will continue even if the EuroMaidan is liquidated, which is likely to incur more casualties. New attempts will likely be made to reclaim lost territory, including the Kyiv City Council building, and the police will have to defend against them.