Hundreds of riot policemen have retreated from Kiev's main Independence Square after an earlier attempt to clear it and nearby areas turned sour as clashes broke out between security forces and protesters.
As many policemen and protesters were injured during the clashes that started last night when police moved into the square and entered the city hall, the sudden move of abondoning the square came from police chiefs.
Interior minister Vitali Zakharchenko meanwhile guaranteed that no more intervention will come from the police and the democratic rights of protest of Ukrainian people would be respected.
Sudden retreat from the police came shortly after a rather harsh criticism from US Secretary State John Kerry on Ukrainian police tactics.
"The United States expresses its disgust with the decision of Ukrainian authorities to meet the peaceful protest in Kiev's Maidan Square with riot police, bulldozers, and batons, rather than with respect for democratic rights and human dignity," Kerry said.
"This response is neither acceptable nor does it befit a democracy," he added.
The anti-government protests started almost three weeks ago when Ukrainian President Victor Yanukhovych changed his mind of signing a free trade deal with the European Union angering many Ukrainians who saw the deal as a step into a future in the union.
Aprroximately 45 % of Ukrainians prefer closer ties with the EU but around 30 % want to keep historic and strong economic ties with Russia.
Especially the west of Ukraine, a great part of which was never ruled by Russian Empire in the past would like to be part of Europe and put a distance with Russia. People of western Ukraine who were led by their Polish rulers until the USSR invasion in 1939 see the EU as a chance to distance their country from corruption and suspicious election results and to start a more democratic way of living.
Meanwhile, PM Nikolay Azarov said on Wedensday that they asked for a 20-bn Euro aid from the EU to be able to sign the free trade deal.
