(ITN) Ukrainian riot police moved into part of the Kiev square where protesters are demonstrating against the government's ties with Russia. In an unexpected crackdown on those who have now been demonstrating for a fortnight, police, with shields and helmets, entered Independence Square in the heart of the snowbound capital on Tuesday night. Clashes broke out as police tried to detain some of the protesters. On one of the main streets leading into the square, a large group of protesters in hard hats, appointed to protect the demonstrators, held back a separate unit of riot police. The action drew an immediate response from the United States, with John Kerry issuing a statement saying: "The US expresses its disgust with the decision of Ukrainian authorities to meet the peaceful protest in Kyiv's Maidan Square with riot police, bulldozers, and batons, rather than with respect for democratic rights and human dignity." Report by Jeremy Barnes.
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