KIEV, February 25 (RIA Novosti) – Ukraine’s acting Interior Minister has ordered an investigation into several top regional officials over their conduct during the recent wave of anti-government protests that led to the toppling of President Viktor Yanukovych.
The ministry said in a statement Tuesday that misconduct and abuse of authority by heads of regional administrations and police chiefs impeded demonstrators’ right to peaceful assembly.
Governors across western Ukraine, where the protest movement drew most of its support, have been resigning their posts en masse since the weekend.
Arsen Avakov, who was appointed acting Interior Minister on Saturday, was a leading organizer of the months-long protests initially sparked by the Yanukovych government’s decision to reject a deal on greater cooperation with the EU.
On Monday, Avakov announced that an arrest warrant had been issued for Yanukovych for mass murder. While not specifying of which killings Yanukovych is accused, it is presumed the charges relate to the suspected killing of dozens of protesters by security forces during bloody street battles in the capital last week.
While the bulk of the unrest was focused on Kiev, protests also broke out in other cities and led in several cases to crowds seizing government offices.
More than 80 people were killed in the clashes last week, including at least 10 police officers.
