Ukraine opposition appeals for financial aid

Ukraine’s opposition called for international mediation and appealed for Western financial aid for the first time in their protests against the president Viktor Yanukovych yesterday.

As tens of thousands of people rallied in Kiev, the boxer-turned-politician Vitali Klitschko told the crowd he had requested “international mediation in our negotiations with Yanukovych so there are no misunderstandings”.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, a former foreign minister, said: “We spoke to our Western partners and told them that we need real financial aid. They are ready to do it. By ‘we’, I mean the Ukrainian people. Not a single kopeck should go to the Yanukovych regime.”

On Saturday, Klitschko and Yatsenyuk attended the Munich Security Conference where Europe and the US sparred over Ukraine with Russia, which has condemned Western pledges of support as interference.

Ukraine is struggling to break free of a painful recession and Russia has put on hold until a new government is formed an €11bn bailout package that has been propping up the economy.

Yanukovych’s office meanwhile said the president would be returning to work today after a few days of sick leave due to “an acute respiratory infection”.

At the sprawling protest camp in Kiev that has been the epicentre for two months of protests that have spread across Ukraine, more than 60,000 people shouted their defiance against his rule yesterday.

The opposition is pressing for more concessions from Yanukovych, including the immediate and unconditional release of all the scores of protesters arrested so far.

Klitschko said they were “hostages” and called for the scrapping of an amnesty law approved by Yanukovych last week that only allows the release if occupied official buildings are vacated within two weeks.

Yanukovych has, over the past few days, accepted the resignation of his prime minister and repealed the controversial anti-protest laws that had radicalised the protest movement. But the opposition still has a number of demands, including an overhaul of the constitution that would take away some of the president’s sweeping powers.

The protest movement is also asking for a presidential election scheduled in 2015 to be brought forward to this year, while protesters in the streets want Yanukovych to resign immediately.

The protests began when Yanukovych in November turned down a partnership pact with the EU under pressure from former master Moscow.

What started out as a pro- EU movement has turned into a campaign to oust Yanukovych. Four people — two protesters and two police officers — have been killed in clashes, according to an official death toll. The opposition has warned the authorities may be preparing to impose emergency rule with a military intervention, although analysts say this is unlikely as commanders are concerned the rank-and-file may side with protesters.

Russia sparred with Western powers at the Munich conference over Ukraine, condemning what it said was foreign interference in another country’s internal affairs. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov condemned Western support for the protesters, asking: “What does incitement of increasingly violent street protests have to do with promoting democracy?”.

However, Kerry said the standoff in the ex-Soviet country was about fighting for “a democratic, European future”. US assistant secretary of state Victoria Nuland is due in Kiev this week, as is the EU’s foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.