Kiev, Ukraine
Ukraine's anti-government protesters warned the President that they have reached their "last act of diplomacy" and demanded that hostages be immediately released.
A spokesman for the demonstrators, Serhiy Pashynsky, said there are 118 protesters currently being detained by the government, with many of them having been beaten up by authorities. Pashynsky warned that if the detained protesters are not released, the demonstrators will launch "an anti-terrorism campaign," against the government.
The Ukrainian Minister of the Interior defended the arrests, saying that many of the detained demonstrators have criminal records. President Yanukovich promised that detained demonstrators who have no serious crimes will be released within three days. The number of those arrested, however, continues to increase.
Demonstrations continued on Monday in the capital city of Kiev after protest leader A.Yatsenyuk rejected an offer from the Ukrainian President giving him the post of Premiere in the current government. Unrest has spread across Ukraine with protesters taking over government buildings in some cities. On Monday, the justice minister warned of an impending declaration of a state of emergency if the protesters do not leave the justice ministry building.
The Ukrainian crisis ensued from the president's refusal to sign a European Union deal and went from bad to worse following the death of four protesters in previous weeks.