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12/8/13

Ukraine: Pro-EU demonstrators to continue protest

Ukrainian pro-Europe demonstrators vowed to stay on the streets and continue their blockade of government buildings, despite a police threat to crack down "harshly" to enforce a court order that they disperse, Reuters reported.

Kiev's November 21 decision to abandon a trade and integration deal with the EU and pursue closer economic ties with Moscow brought hundreds of thousands of demonstrators into the streets over the weekend. Protesters have since blockaded the main government headquarters and occupied Kiev's city hall.

The government ratcheted up its rhetoric on Thursday, with Prime Minister Mykola Azarov branding opponents "Nazis and criminals." Kiev's police chief, Valery Mazan, threatened to "act decisively, harshly" if the protesters defy the court order to end their blockade and occupation of government buildings.

But the protesters showed no sign of retreating, with thousands remaining steadfastly camped out in the streets deep into the night.

"Let them come; we will stay," Igor Vorkuta, 47, said of the police. "This is a peaceful revolution, there are no guns here," he said, warming his hands on a brazier in the freezing winter cold near midnight in the square.

The crisis has exposed a gulf between Ukrainians, many from the West of the country, who hope to move rapidly into the European mainstream, and those mainly from the East who look to the former Soviet master Moscow as a guarantor of stability.

Read more: Ukrainian Journal

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