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Riot police try to remove a barricade held by protesters on Independence Square in Kyiv early on December 11.
Riot police try to remove a barricade held by protesters on Independence Square in Kyiv early on December 11.

Live Blog: Kyiv Protesters Dig In

Updated
Final Wrapup (Barring major events)

-- EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said after an afternoon meeting that President Viktor Yanukovych pledged to her that "something should be done in the course of the next 24 hours."

-- Yanukovych then announced he had invited the opposition to participate in dialogue. He added that Ukrainian authorities would "act only within the law and never use force against peaceful assemblies."

-- Opposition parties have rejected negotiations unless all of their demands are met. UDAR leader Vitali Klitschko said the overnight crackdown on December 10-11 meant that "Yanukovich closed off the path to any kind of compromise."

-- Early on December 11, about 10 hours after police first began to clear Independence Square and other protest sites in Kyiv overnight, police withdrew from those locations. People have returned to Independence Square and are rebuilding barricades.

-- Former Interior Minister and Yulia Tymoshenko ally Yuriy Lutsenko announced that the next major rally in the capital was planned for December 13 and urged people to come to Independence Square.

-- Prime Minister Mykola Azarov announced that Ukraine was requesting 20 billion euros in financial aid from the European Union to help lay the groundwork for an Association Agreement.

-- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland went personally to Independence Square to hand out food to riot police and protesters, then met with President Viktor Yanukovych and said the United States believed it was still possible to save Ukraine's "European future." Secretary of State John Kerry had said earlier that he was "disgusted" by the government's overnight actions in Kyiv. A State Department spokesperson said all options, including sanctions, were on the table.

Glenn Kates and RFE/RL editors
11:20 11.12.2013
11:27 11.12.2013
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland visiting Independence Square today, after police had cleared away the protest camp overnight. She offered food to security forces and to protesters:

11:31 11.12.2013
Lithuanian FM Linas Linkevicius: "The Ukrainian authorities to a greater degree have lost their credibility with the European Union."
German FM Guido Westerwelle: "A real political dialogue must now be launched, not just continually promised."
11:32 11.12.2013
Is this the kind of company you want to keep, President Yanukovych?

11:38 11.12.2013
EU Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly on PM Azarov's plea for 20 billion euros:

"We have also seen different figures flying around when it comes to compensation or aid that would be necessary to Ukraine to help the implementation of an agreement with the European Union. We will not discuss figures, we will not comment on these figures. We consider that this agreement is good for Ukraine's prosperity, this agreement is about investment, this agreement is about prosperity in the future of Ukraine. We are not going to play with figure and have an escalation of figures. We consider that Ukraine's prosperity and Ukraine's future cannot be subject to a call of tender where the highest bidder will get a prize."
11:42 11.12.2013
11:44 11.12.2013
Even the weather report is getting political.

No snow predicted for Euromaidan on Thursday:
11:49 11.12.2013
Nuland: "We have made it absolutely clear to Yanukovych that actions such as those that occurred overnight are unacceptable in a democratic society" (Ukrayinska pravda)
11:49 11.12.2013
Passing this along. We haven't confirmed it.

11:53 11.12.2013
Nuland talks to Yanukovych for over two hours, describes discussion as "tough but realistic." Says she hopes Ukrainian president "knows what to do."

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