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At least 25 people have been killed in Kiev as the Ukrainian capital plunges back into chaos. Rioters have attacked police, seized buildings, torched vehicles, and burned tires.
Nine policemen are among the dead, all of whom died from gunshot wounds.

Making public appeals to arm the opposition has crossed the line, declared Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich in address to the nation published on his website.

"This is a glaring violation of the law. The offenders must appear before a tribunal which will determine the measure of punishment for them. This is not my caprice, it is my duty as a guarantor of the Constitution - to ensure peace in the country, the peace of the citizens and justice for everyone," the statement says.

The leaders of the opposition should immediately dissociate from the radicals provoking bloodshed and clashes with law enforcement, demanded Yanukovich.
"If they do not wish to abide, they ought to declare that they support the radicals. In that case they would be treated respectively," the president declared.

Viktor Yanukovich said that opposition leaders demanded full power without elections, which is unconstitutional.
"I told the [opposition leaders] many times - elections are close. If people trust you, you will be in power. If they do not, you won't. But both must occur legally, according to the Constitution of Ukraine," Yanukovich stated.
During a phone call to Viktor Yanukovich, US Vice-President Joe Biden expressed "grave concern" at the surge of violence in the Ukrainian capital. Biden urged Yanukovich to exercise maximum restraint and pull back law enforcement confronting the rioters in downtown Kiev.

With the White House condemning violence in Ukraine, Biden maintained it is the special responsibility of Ukraine's government to defuse tension.

Biden also pushed "the urgency of immediate dialogue with opposition leaders to address protesters' legitimate grievances and to put forward serious proposals for political reform."
Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovich and opposition leaders were unable to reach an agreement during the emergency meeting, RIA Novosti quoted UDAR party leader Vitaly Klitschko as saying. "Yanukovich said that there is only one option...to clear Maidan and that everyone has to go home," Klitschko told independent Hromadske TV after meeting with the Ukrainian president. It is not yet clear whether talks with the other two opposition leaders continued.

At least 11 protesters died in the riots, according to local officials. "As of 11 p.m. local time 221 people have sought medical attention, 114 of them were hospitalized. There were 11 fatalities," Ukraine's Health Ministry said in a statement.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was "deeply worried about the grave new escalation".

UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for restraint and dialogue, while NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen urged "all parties to refrain from violence and to urgently resume dialogue, including through the parliamentary process".
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned that the violence could lead to EU sanctions against those responsible.
Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt tweeted: "Only person who can now stop catastrophe in Ukraine is President Yanukovich. His vacillation and violence responsible for situation."

However, a top Russian lawmaker said Ukraine -which is divided between a pro-EU half and a pro-Russian half - was on the brink of a civil war that he said had been inflamed by the West.

"I consider that a significant amount of responsibility for this falls on the West and Western politicians, who are constantly putting pressure on the Ukrainian authorities," Alexei Pushkov told Interfax news agency.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team