Ukraine: Peaceful methods to solve Kiev stand-offs have proved futile, warns minister

Ukraine’s interior minister says attempts to use peaceful means to solve the stand-off with protesters in Kiev have been futile, accusing the opposition of stockpiling arms in protest camps in the centre of the city and encouraging assaults on police.
Vitaly Zakharchenko said the anti-government protesters “don’t want to disassociate themselves from radical forces” and were “exposing Ukrainians to danger”, according to a statement on the Interior Ministry website on Saturday.
Opposition members have denied the claims, and accuse authorities of using brutal force against protesters. The Interior Ministry was forced to apologise earlier this week after video footage surfaced of police assaulting a demonstrator after forcing him to strip naked in freezing conditions.
The claims from the Interior Ministry came as activists said they had seized another government building in the centre of Kiev, and more protests were reported in regional areas, as the protests continue to spread across the country. has threatened “consequences” if the government fails to take steps to scale down the confrontation.