Amid news that embattled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych would support a roundtable with opposition leaders to negotiate an end to a political stalemate here, riot police pushed protesters out of the government block, where they barricaded administrative buildings.
Although there were only minor conflicts reported, Dec. 9 was psychologically exhausting for protesters who spent the day alert and fearing attacks. But major physical crackdowns took place in the offices of Batkivshchyna, the biggest political party, and several media outlets. Armed with automatic rifles, police confiscated servers from Batkivshchyna offices, claiming that the move was backed by a court order.
Officials had given protesters occupying central government buildings until today to evacuate or face crackdowns. But by nightfall protesters remained camped inside the Kyiv city hall and Trade Union buildings.
Law enforcement did manage to regain a substantial amount of ground in the government district of the city, dismantling many tents and barricades with barbed wire that were set up over the past week by protesters, and it was done without having to use much physical force.
Warnings that police had been given orders to remove protesters from key locations around central Independence Square, where several thousands have gathered in the past three weeks, came all day. But very few clashes actually happened. Sporadic scuffles were reported at various times, but no serious injuries.
Members of Batkivschyna, the party led by jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, whose case the West considers to be political, as well as politician Arseniy Yatseniuk, reported that unknown men in black uniforms and masks had ransacked their Kyiv base and taken their computer servers.
"They've turned the server room into a mess… Searches are under way and the doors of the Batkivschyna Party's office are being broken down," Yatseniuk said at a briefing. "No parliamentarians are let into the office. All the equipment has been damaged.”
The country’s Interior Ministry said a court, due to two criminal cases that involve alleged fraud and abuse of office, sanctioned the attack on Batkivshchyna’s office. They said a group of citizens reported to the police that a company, located on 19-B Turivska (an address close to Batkivshchyna offices) allegedly illegally seized computer equipment worth Hr 350,000, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. Moreover, they complained that officials from this company abused their authority.
During the search, computer equipment and documents were confiscated as evidence in a criminal investigation, according to Interior Ministry officials.
Police actions sparked outrage among protesters and the opposition, diminishing the chances for a presidential roundtable to succeed in finding a solution out of the current gridlock. Representatives of the opposition said that they would not even consider negotiations until the government resigns, the police officers responsible for violent crackdowns on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 are punished and students and activists arrested after those clashes are allowed to go free.
The European Union's Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton was scheduled to visit Ukraine on Dec. 10 to encourage the two sides to seek compromise. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland was also set to visit, but by the end of Monday it was not clear when.
上月，乌克兰政府决定暂停与欧盟签署联系国协定后，国内爆发大规模抗议示威活动。乌克兰当局12月9日对占领政府街区的示威者进行清场。警方当天也搜查了一处反对党总部。
***警方收复“失地”
本月8日起，应乌克兰反对党祖国党议会党团领导人亚采纽克的号召，示威者封锁位于首都基辅的总统府、议会和政府所在街区。9日，乌克兰警方启动清场行动，准备收复“失地”。
“尽管只发生了几起小冲突，但对于时刻保持高度警惕、担心遭袭的示威者而言，12月9日仍旧是身心俱疲的一天。”《基辅邮报》报道称，当局已发出警告，要求示威者9日撤离政府街区，然而直至夜幕降临，示威者在基辅市政厅和工会搭建的帐篷仍未拆除。
在基辅独立广场，9日全天，要求示威者“请速撤离”的警告声不绝于耳。严寒天气之下，部分示威者选择继续坚守，但还是担心防暴警察清场。警方9日的清场行动最终取得一定成效，“在没有过多使用武力的情况下，成功收复大片被示威者占领的政府街区”。
反对派领袖、乌克兰著名运动员、世界拳击理事会（WBC）重量级拳王维塔利•克利奇科指出，“我们能预见到和平示威者被警方驱散。假若在此过程中发生流血冲突，这笔血债将由下达命令的人——（总统）亚努科维奇来偿还。 ”
***搜查反对党总部
乌克兰当局“温和”应对示威者，但对反对党似乎毫不手软。9日，手持自动步枪的警察突击搜查祖国党基辅总部办公室，搬走多台计算机服务器。警方宣称是按法庭命令行事。
亚采纽克说：“他们把机房翻得一团糟……把办公室的门都被砸坏了，还禁止所有议员进入办公室，破坏了所有设备。”
对此，乌克兰内政部回应称，由于涉及两起诈骗和滥用职权的刑事案件，法庭批准搜查祖国党基辅总部办公室，并没收计算机设备和资料作为刑事调查证据。
据当地媒体报道，此前乌克兰警方收到群众举报，称位于祖国党基辅总部附近的一家公司非法扣押一批价值不菲的计算机设备，并指责公司领导滥用职权。
***和平解决危机可能性降低
分析人士认为，乌克兰警方的清场行动激起示威者和反对派的怒火，与此同时，通过总统圆桌会谈来解决当前僵局的可能性也随之降低。
反对派代表已明确表明，除非亚努科维奇政府辞职、11月30日和12月1日暴力镇压示威的警察被绳之以法以及被捕示威者获释，否则拒绝谈判。
此外，欧盟外交与安全政策高级代表凯瑟琳•阿什顿将与当地时间10日前往乌克兰，助乌克兰走出政治危机。而美国助理国务卿维多利亚•纽兰也计划访乌，但具体时间尚未确定。