UKRAINE: Opposition gives President Yanukovich 24 hours, ready to face bullets

Record ID: 214251

  • Title: UKRAINE: Opposition gives President Yanukovich 24 hours, ready to face bullets
  • Date: 22nd January 2014
  • Summary: OPPOSITION LEADERS SINGING NATIONAL ANTHEM ON STAGE
  • Embargoed: 6th February 2014 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA1CE6L6LY33SR3LC6TB1O4QVAL
  • Story Text: Ukrainian opposition leaders told crowds of supporters on Wednesday (January 22) that they gave President Viktor Yanukovich 24 hours to solve the country's crisis and stop the bloodshed.
    Boxer-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko, one of the leaders, told thousands of protesters on Kiev's Independence Square that he 'will do whatever it takes' to stop the bloodshed and to find a solution to the Ukrainian problem.

    "I will do whatever it takes to avoid bloodshed and to find the resolution of this problem. Once again, I address to the president, I know that at this very seconds he is watching this live transmission. I know, you, Mr. President, have the authorities to solve this problem. Snap elections will change the situation without bloodshed. And we will do everything to achieve that. Listen to people, do not ignore them," Klitschko said.
    Klitschko, who among other opposition leaders met with Yanukovich for talks on Wednesday, said there had been no positive response from Yanukovich to end weeks of street unrest, calling on protesters to prepare for a police offensive against them.
    Another opposition leader Arseny Yatsenyuk said that Yanukovich had been given 24 hours to find a solution to the country's crisis, also calling on protesters to take to the streets if no action will follow from the president.

    "We have 24 hours left to walk this path. If this does not happen, I can only tell you what I will do - I will not be able to live with shame, tomorrow we will march forward together. If it's a bullet to the head, then it's a bullet to the head. At least it's honest, fair, and brave," Yatsenyuk said.
    During overnight violence in Kiev on Wednesday, two people died from gunshot wounds while a third was said to have fallen from atop the Dynamo soccer stadium, the general prosecutor's office said.
    The anti-government protests erupted last November after President Viktor Yanukovich shunned a trade pact with the EU at the last moment and instead turned to Russia for financial aid to prop up the ailing economy of his former Soviet republic.
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