The withdrawal of riot police from two areas in Ukraine’s capital is raising opposition hopes that three weeks of escalating protests have begun to erode police support for President Viktor Yanukovych and his government.

Anti-government protesters in Ukraine are claiming victory after riot police backed down from a showdown in Kiev’s main square.

Top Western diplomats headed to Kiev today to try to defuse a stand-off between Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s government and thousands of demonstrators, following a night in which police in riot gear dismantled protesters’ encampments outside government buildings.

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