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| Kiev Has Deal, but Both Russia and Protesters Appear Wary | Kiev Has Deal, but Both Russia and Protesters Appear Wary |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| KIEV, Ukraine — A deal aimed at ending a lethal spiral of violence in Ukraine began to show serious strains late Friday just hours after it had been signed, with angry protesters shouting down opposition members of Parliament who negotiated the accord and a militant leader threatening armed attacks if President Viktor F. Yanukovych did not step down by morning. | KIEV, Ukraine — A deal aimed at ending a lethal spiral of violence in Ukraine began to show serious strains late Friday just hours after it had been signed, with angry protesters shouting down opposition members of Parliament who negotiated the accord and a militant leader threatening armed attacks if President Viktor F. Yanukovych did not step down by morning. |
| Russia, which joined France, Germany and Poland in mediating the settlement, introduced a further element of uncertainty by declining to sign the accord, which reduces the power of Mr. Yanukovych, an ally of Moscow. This stirred fears that Moscow might now work to undo the deal through economic and other pressures, as it did last year to subvert a proposed trade deal between Ukraine and the European Union. But American officials said Mr. Putin told Mr. Obama in a telephone call on Friday that he would work toward resolving the crisis. | Russia, which joined France, Germany and Poland in mediating the settlement, introduced a further element of uncertainty by declining to sign the accord, which reduces the power of Mr. Yanukovych, an ally of Moscow. This stirred fears that Moscow might now work to undo the deal through economic and other pressures, as it did last year to subvert a proposed trade deal between Ukraine and the European Union. But American officials said Mr. Putin told Mr. Obama in a telephone call on Friday that he would work toward resolving the crisis. |
| The developments cast a shadow over a hard-fought accord that mandates early presidential elections by December, a swift return to a 2004 Constitution that sharply limited the president’s powers and the establishment within 10 days of a “government of national trust.” | |
| In a series of votes that followed the accord and reflected Parliament’s determination to make the settlement work, lawmakers moved to free Mr. Yanukovych’s imprisoned rival, former Prime Minister Yulia V. Tymoshenko; grant blanket amnesty to all antigovernment protesters; and provide financial aid to the hundreds of wounded and families of the dead. | |
| Except for a series of loud explosions on Friday night and angry chants in the protest encampment, Kiev was generally quiet. And the authorities, although previously divided about how to handle the crisis, seemed eager to avoid more confrontations. By late in the afternoon, all police officers had vacated the government district of the capital, leaving behind burned military trucks, mattresses and heaps of garbage at the positions they had occupied for months. | Except for a series of loud explosions on Friday night and angry chants in the protest encampment, Kiev was generally quiet. And the authorities, although previously divided about how to handle the crisis, seemed eager to avoid more confrontations. By late in the afternoon, all police officers had vacated the government district of the capital, leaving behind burned military trucks, mattresses and heaps of garbage at the positions they had occupied for months. |
| In Independence Square, the focal point of the protest movement, however, the mood was one of deep anger and determination, not triumph. “Get out criminal! Death to the criminal!” the crowd chanted, reaffirming what, after a week of bloody violence, has become a nonnegotiable demand for many protesters: the immediate departure of Mr. Yanukovych. | In Independence Square, the focal point of the protest movement, however, the mood was one of deep anger and determination, not triumph. “Get out criminal! Death to the criminal!” the crowd chanted, reaffirming what, after a week of bloody violence, has become a nonnegotiable demand for many protesters: the immediate departure of Mr. Yanukovych. |
| When Vitali Klitschko, one of the three opposition leaders who signed the deal, spoke in its defense, people screamed “shame!” A coffin was then hauled on a stage in the square to remind Mr. Klitschko of the more than 70 people who died during violence on Thursday, the most lethal day of political mayhem in Ukraine since independence from the Soviet Union more than 22 years ago. | When Vitali Klitschko, one of the three opposition leaders who signed the deal, spoke in its defense, people screamed “shame!” A coffin was then hauled on a stage in the square to remind Mr. Klitschko of the more than 70 people who died during violence on Thursday, the most lethal day of political mayhem in Ukraine since independence from the Soviet Union more than 22 years ago. |
| The violence escalated the urgency of the crisis, which began with protests in late November after a decision by Mr. Yanukovych to spurn a trade and political deal with the European Union and tilt his nation toward Russia instead. | The violence escalated the urgency of the crisis, which began with protests in late November after a decision by Mr. Yanukovych to spurn a trade and political deal with the European Union and tilt his nation toward Russia instead. |
| It was difficult to know how much of the fury voiced on Friday night in Independence Square was fiery bravado, a final cry of anger before the three-month-long protest movement winds down or the harbinger of yet more and possibly worse violence to come. | It was difficult to know how much of the fury voiced on Friday night in Independence Square was fiery bravado, a final cry of anger before the three-month-long protest movement winds down or the harbinger of yet more and possibly worse violence to come. |
| Vividly clear, however, was the wide gulf that had opened up between the opposition’s political leadership and a street movement that has radicalized and slipped far from the already tenuous control of politicians. | Vividly clear, however, was the wide gulf that had opened up between the opposition’s political leadership and a street movement that has radicalized and slipped far from the already tenuous control of politicians. |
| Mr. Klitschko was interrupted by an angry radical who did not give his name but said he was the leader of a group of fighters, known as a hundred. | |
| “We gave chances to politicians to become future ministers, presidents, but they don’t want to fulfill one condition — that the criminal go away!” he said, vowing to lead an armed attack if Mr. Yanukovych did not announce his resignation by 10 a.m. on Saturday. The crowd shouted: “Yes! Yes!” | “We gave chances to politicians to become future ministers, presidents, but they don’t want to fulfill one condition — that the criminal go away!” he said, vowing to lead an armed attack if Mr. Yanukovych did not announce his resignation by 10 a.m. on Saturday. The crowd shouted: “Yes! Yes!” |
| Dmytro Yarosh, the leader of Right Sector, a coalition of hard-line nationalist groups, reacted defiantly to news of the settlement, drawing more cheers from the crowd. | Dmytro Yarosh, the leader of Right Sector, a coalition of hard-line nationalist groups, reacted defiantly to news of the settlement, drawing more cheers from the crowd. |
| “The agreements that were reached do not correspond to our aspirations,” he said. “Right Sector will not lay down arms. Right Sector will not lift the blockade of a single administrative building until our main demand is met — the resignation of Yanukovych.” | “The agreements that were reached do not correspond to our aspirations,” he said. “Right Sector will not lay down arms. Right Sector will not lift the blockade of a single administrative building until our main demand is met — the resignation of Yanukovych.” |
| He added that he and his supporters were “ready to take responsibility for the further development of the revolution.” The crowd shouted: “Good! Good!” | He added that he and his supporters were “ready to take responsibility for the further development of the revolution.” The crowd shouted: “Good! Good!” |
| Previous settlements and truces have all broken down, engulfed by wild bursts of violence on the streets of the capital, Kiev, and unrest in other parts of the country, particularly western regions where antigovernment sentiment has always been strong. | Previous settlements and truces have all broken down, engulfed by wild bursts of violence on the streets of the capital, Kiev, and unrest in other parts of the country, particularly western regions where antigovernment sentiment has always been strong. |
| Eric Fournier, France’s representative at the talks, cautioned that Friday’s deal was “a beginning, not an end.” | Eric Fournier, France’s representative at the talks, cautioned that Friday’s deal was “a beginning, not an end.” |
| “There is still a lot of anger around,” he said. | |
| The pressure for a political settlement has been intense, coming from not only European governments but also those in this former Soviet republic of 46 million people who fear that their country is hurtling toward a possible civil war, particularly after the violence on Thursday. | The pressure for a political settlement has been intense, coming from not only European governments but also those in this former Soviet republic of 46 million people who fear that their country is hurtling toward a possible civil war, particularly after the violence on Thursday. |
| In a sign that the accord could yield concrete results, Parliament, long dominated by the president’s Party of Regions, passed a law that would allow the release of Ms. Tymoshenko, an opposition leader who was imprisoned after she lost the 2010 presidential election to Mr. Yanukovych. It was unclear when she might be freed from a penitentiary in eastern Ukraine, where she has been held since August 2011. | In a sign that the accord could yield concrete results, Parliament, long dominated by the president’s Party of Regions, passed a law that would allow the release of Ms. Tymoshenko, an opposition leader who was imprisoned after she lost the 2010 presidential election to Mr. Yanukovych. It was unclear when she might be freed from a penitentiary in eastern Ukraine, where she has been held since August 2011. |
| A few protesters interpreted the departure of the police from the government district and the announced agreement as a victory. “I cannot believe it, but I think we won,” said one as he walked past the unguarded Cabinet of Ministers building, an act that would have got him beaten or shot earlier in the week. | A few protesters interpreted the departure of the police from the government district and the announced agreement as a victory. “I cannot believe it, but I think we won,” said one as he walked past the unguarded Cabinet of Ministers building, an act that would have got him beaten or shot earlier in the week. |
| Russia’s decision to distance itself from the accord leaves in place one of the primary sources of tension driving a Ukrainian crisis that is not only a domestic political battle but also a geopolitical struggle between Russia and the West. Washington and other Western capitals cheered the accord, but Moscow complained that it had been largely negotiated by the Europeans and Ukrainians, and said that changing Ukraine’s Constitution to give more power to Parliament should first be put to a referendum. | Russia’s decision to distance itself from the accord leaves in place one of the primary sources of tension driving a Ukrainian crisis that is not only a domestic political battle but also a geopolitical struggle between Russia and the West. Washington and other Western capitals cheered the accord, but Moscow complained that it had been largely negotiated by the Europeans and Ukrainians, and said that changing Ukraine’s Constitution to give more power to Parliament should first be put to a referendum. |
| “I am upset that the Russians are not signatories. I am really upset,” said Arseniy P. Yatsenyuk, another opposition leader who signed. Mr. Yatsenyuk, speaking to reporters after signing, acknowledged that the settlement might not go over well with protesters, but said they could be persuaded, especially since they would be allowed to maintain their protest encampment in Independence Square. | |
| “We need to explain, and we need to not only explain, we need to act,” said Mr. Yatsenyuk, a bespectacled former finance minister who is viewed as too soft by the protest movement’s more militant elements. “People will never trust any kind of signature. People will trust real action.” | “We need to explain, and we need to not only explain, we need to act,” said Mr. Yatsenyuk, a bespectacled former finance minister who is viewed as too soft by the protest movement’s more militant elements. “People will never trust any kind of signature. People will trust real action.” |
| But as happened with previous deals, Mr. Yanukovych’s concessions were seen by many protesters as too little, too late. | But as happened with previous deals, Mr. Yanukovych’s concessions were seen by many protesters as too little, too late. |
| Had he offered to revise the Constitution and hold early elections a month ago, he would probably have calmed his opponents. | Had he offered to revise the Constitution and hold early elections a month ago, he would probably have calmed his opponents. |
| But Thursday’s bloodshed created so much anger that protesters, particularly those who manned burning barricades and held back riot police officers, want far more than an elaborate political deal that limits Mr. Yanukovych’s power but does not oust him from it. | But Thursday’s bloodshed created so much anger that protesters, particularly those who manned burning barricades and held back riot police officers, want far more than an elaborate political deal that limits Mr. Yanukovych’s power but does not oust him from it. |
| More moderate opponents of the president want him gone and even dead. Unless he resigns, Yuriy Korshenko, a lawyer and former judge, said, “he will end up like Ceausescu and Qaddafi.” The Romanian and Libyan dictators, Nicolae Ceausescu and Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, were both killed in bloody uprisings. | More moderate opponents of the president want him gone and even dead. Unless he resigns, Yuriy Korshenko, a lawyer and former judge, said, “he will end up like Ceausescu and Qaddafi.” The Romanian and Libyan dictators, Nicolae Ceausescu and Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, were both killed in bloody uprisings. |
| “If Yanukovych were a man of honor, he would have already shot himself,” Mr. Korshenko added during a visit on Friday to Mikhailovsky Cathedral, a golden-domed church that has served as a clinic and logistics center for the protest movement. | “If Yanukovych were a man of honor, he would have already shot himself,” Mr. Korshenko added during a visit on Friday to Mikhailovsky Cathedral, a golden-domed church that has served as a clinic and logistics center for the protest movement. |
| Thousands of mostly middle-class people thronged the church on Thursday to show their support, erupting in cheers when a woman announced, erroneously, that Mr. Yanukovych had agreed to step down. | Thousands of mostly middle-class people thronged the church on Thursday to show their support, erupting in cheers when a woman announced, erroneously, that Mr. Yanukovych had agreed to step down. |
| “We don’t want to wait until December,” said Roman Kvasuk, an antigovernment protester manning a newly reinforced barricade on Hrushevsky Street, a scene of frequent and bloody clashes with riot police officers. Mr. Kvasuk was speaking as he and a group of fellow activists planned to walk up the street toward Parliament, a move that in previous days would have drawn gunfire from jittery government forces responsible for protecting official buildings. | “We don’t want to wait until December,” said Roman Kvasuk, an antigovernment protester manning a newly reinforced barricade on Hrushevsky Street, a scene of frequent and bloody clashes with riot police officers. Mr. Kvasuk was speaking as he and a group of fellow activists planned to walk up the street toward Parliament, a move that in previous days would have drawn gunfire from jittery government forces responsible for protecting official buildings. |