Translated material
The merger of protest
Two camps of supporters of European integration in Kyiv united, RIA Novosti reports. Participants in the protest of the opposition, held on the European Square, switched to Independence Maidan. There, the camp arose spontaneously, and its participants do not use political symbols and slogans.
On Wednesday night, the leader of the Opposition Parliamentary faction "Fatherland" Arseniy Yatsenyuk announced from the stage on the European Square that the opposition would go to the unification of two camps and abandon the political component of the action. According to him, this is the request of the ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
After that, headed by the leaders of the united opposition Yatsenyuk, Oleg Tyagnibok and Vitaly Klitschko, the participants of the action switched to Independence Square. They took with them only huge state flag and the flag of the European Union.
The coordinator of the non -political protest rally warned the opposition that they would be accepted only on condition that they abandon political flags and slogans. The opposition leaders agreed, but in their speeches they could not avoid a political topic. This caused the whistle of the crowd addressed to them. However, the coordinators managed to persuade the participants in the action to be more tolerant. As a result, the association of both rallies was peacefully. The action continued with a concert.
Night on November 27. Photo by Lyudmila Barkova:
Night on November 26. Video Lyudmila Barkova:
Euromaidan: Night confrontation
On Tuesday evening, President Viktor Yanukovych said that Ukraine will sign an association agreement with the EU, when it will be "economically ready," UNIAN reports . “As soon as we reach the level that will be comfortable for us, and when it will comply with our interests, when we agree on normal conditions, then we will talk about signing. When it will be - soon or not very soon, time will tell. I want this time to be as soon as possible,” Yanukovych said.
On Monday, Tymoshenko announced an unlimited hunger strike with the requirement to sign an agreement on the Association of Ukraine with the European Union. The letter of the ex-prime minister from the scene of European square in Kyiv was read out by her lawyer Sergey Vlasenko. In her statement, Tymoshenko emphasized that she was proud that hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians entered the Euromaidans in Ukraine and around the world. "As a sign of unity and solidarity with everyone who is now fighting for all the Euro -Maidans in Ukraine and in the world, I declare an indefinite hunger strike with a demand to Yanukovych to sign an association agreement and a free trade zone with the EU," she said.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the EU leaders to refrain from sharp statements about the situation with the decision of Ukraine to suspend the conclusion of an agreement with the EU on associated membership. "I would ask our friends in Brussels, my personal friends of good in the European Commission to refrain from sharp expressions. What do we need to like, we need to strangle the entire industries of our economy?" -Putin said at a press conference following the results of Russian-Italian negotiations.
The President again made a proposal to discuss this topic in the tripartite format of Ukraine-Cossius.
According to Putin, Russia did not receive more than $ 10 billion due to gas discounts provided to Ukraine in exchange for extending the stay of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia in Crimea. The total debt of Ukrainian companies to Russian credit organizations is $ 28 billion, the president noted. Russia will work with Ukraine to resolve this debt, as well as on gas debts, regardless of Kyiv’s decision on European integration, he said.
On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry distributed a comment in which he accused the EU of pressure on Ukraine after its refusal of its government to continue the process of European integration. “At the same time, the EU cannot but be aware that such an intervention in the internal affairs of the sovereign state incites the opposition part of the Ukrainian society to protest and illegal actions against the legitimate Ukrainian authorities,” the commentary says.
On the eve of the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barrosa and the President of the Council of the European Union Herman van Rompey made a joint statement. In it, they criticized the position of Russia , which, in their opinion, exert pressure on Ukraine on the issue of association with the EU. Barrosa and Van Rompey emphasized that Brussels will not force Ukraine, or any other partner, to choose between the European Union and any other regional factor. Kyiv, according to them, must freely decide what kind of relationship he wants to have with the European Union. But citizens of Ukraine, the EU leaders are convinced, again demonstrated these days that they fully understand and welcome the historical character of the European association. “Therefore, we express a decisive disapproval of the position and actions of Russia in this connection,” they emphasized in their statement.
On November 21, the Ukrainian government ordered to suspend the process of preparing for the conclusion of an agreement on the Association between Ukraine and the EU. This led to numerous protests throughout the country. In Kyiv, there were repeated skirmishes with the police with the use of tear gas on both sides. However, in general, law enforcement officers do not interfere with the rally.