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Riot Police Storm Opposition Offices In Ukraine

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Pro-European Union activists stand with their backs towards police, in front of the police line to prevent provocations near the Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, Dec. 9, 2013. (Sergei Chuzavkov/AP)
Pro-European Union activists stand with their backs towards police, in front of the police line to prevent provocations near the Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, Dec. 9, 2013. (Sergei Chuzavkov/AP)

A top Ukrainian opposition party says heavily armed riot police have stormed its office in downtown Kiev. The move comes as the Ukrainian capital has been crippled by massive anti-government protests.

Ostap Semerak told The Associated Press that troops broke into the Fatherland Party's offices on Monday evening. He said some troops were walking along its corridors while others were climbing in through the windows. He called the situation "insane."

The action came after Kiev was flooded with hundreds of riot police in full gear. Some police surrounded opposition tents erected outside government buildings and began dismantling the barricades blocking people from city offices.

President Viktor Yanukovych has faced three weeks of protests after his decision to freeze ties with the European Union and align himself with Russia.

The BBC's Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg is in Kiev and joins Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson with the latest.

Guest

  • Steve Rosenberg, Moscow correspondent for BBC News. He tweets @BBCSteveR.

This segment aired on December 9, 2013.

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