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Originally published April 3, 2014 at 6:03 AM | Page modified April 4, 2014 at 12:40 AM

Ukraine's interim authorities on Thursday accused fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych of ordering snipers to open fire on protesters and getting help from Russian security agents to battle his own people, but they provided no evidence directly linking him to the bloodbath in Kiev that left more than 100 people dead.

Acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov also accused his predecessor, who was in charge of police, of recruiting gangs of killers, kidnappers and thugs to terrorize and undermine the opposition during the monthslong protests.

The inquiry revealed by Kiev's new leadership examined the months of anti-government protests that culminated in the bloodshed that peaked on Feb. 20, just days before Yanukovych fled to Russia.

Speaking at a televised news conference, Avakov said police snipers shot at demonstrators near Kiev's Independence Square, also known as the Maidan, as they walked toward the government district. He said 17 people were killed by snipers positioned at the October Palace cultural center and that one sniper alone killed as many as eight people.

Security officials then moved to cover up and destroy evidence "to ensure that any investigations would be impossible," Avakov said. "Clothes were burned, weapons discarded and documents destroyed."

Ukrainian Security Service chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko charged that Yanukovych himself ordered the killings.

"What was planned under the guise of an anti-terrorist operation, and which was in fact an operation of mass killing of people, took place under the immediate and direct leadership of former president Yanukovych," Nalyvaichenko said. He did not elaborate on where he got his information.

In an interview Wednesday with The Associated Press, Yanukovych firmly denied that he gave orders to shoot demonstrators, saying that members of his inner circle even criticized him for his reluctance to use force during the monthslong protests.

Nalyvaichenko also said there was evidence that Russia's FSB security service, the successor agency to the KGB, assisted in attempts to suppress the anti-government protests. He said FSB members were deployed at a Ukrainian security facility -- 26 in December and six in January -- and that they took part in planning and implementing anti-protest measures. He said the Russians even interrogated the Ukrainian security chief.

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Ukraine: Yanukovych ordered snipers to shoot

Authorities in Ukraine said Thursday that they have detained several members of an elite riot police unit on suspicion of shooting protesters during bloody anti-government clashes in February that left more than 100 dead.

The Prosecutor General's Office said those detained include the head of a company in the Berkut riot police who allegedly handed out weapons for use against demonstrators.

A government report was to be released later Thursday on the events on Feb. 18-20.

Days after those killings, President Viktor Yanukovych fled the capital, precipitating the fall of his government.

The identity of the snipers is disputed. The interim government says Yanukovych ordered snipers to be deployed a charge Yanukovych denied in an AP interview on Wednesday.

Opponents of the current leadership say snipers were organized by opposition leaders trying to whip up outrage.

Yanukovych also said he "was wrong" in inviting Russian troops into Crimea, which was swiftly annexed by Moscow following a referendum in which reunion with Russia was backed by 97 percent of those who voted.

Ukraine's fledging government and Western leaders have since expressed concern about a recent build-up of Russian forces near the Ukrainian border. President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel last week that the troops were there for military exercises and that one battalion has already left.

Yanukovych, in the interview with AP and Russia's state NTV television, did not answer several questions about whether he would support any Russian move into other areas of Ukraine on the pretext of protecting ethnic Russians.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday offered further assurances, telling reporters that Russian troops "will be returning to the place of their permanent quarters as soon as other participants of the exercise have completed their tasks."

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Ukraine Detains Riot Police Over Sniper Deaths

Ukraine's Western-backed leaders have blamed Russian agents and the country's ousted president for organising two days of bloodshed during February protests that claimed nearly 90 lives.

The explosive allegations were levelled only moments before Russia responded to the new course taken by the ex-Soviet neighbour by hiking the price it must pay for gas shipments to what Ukrainian officials say is the highest rate for any European state.

White House spokesman Jay Carney reacted by warning Russia that 'a country should not use supply and pricing terms as tools of coercion to interfere in Ukraine or elsewhere'.

Moscow also lashed out at its old Cold War nemesis NATO for building up the defences of ex-Communist and Soviet nations that have felt threatened by Russia's recent annexation of Crimea and massive buildup of forces near Ukraine.

The fierce East-West fight for Ukraine's future has exposed the deep divide that splits the nation of 46 million between those who see themselves either as culturally tied to Russia or as part of a broader Europe.

Those tensions exploded on February 18 when gunshots in the heart of snow-swept Kiev heralded the onset of pitched battles between riot police and protesters - some armed with nothing more than metal shields - that left scores dead.

Both sides have blamed the other for starting the violence, but there had been no formal probe results unveiled until acting interior minister Arsen Avakov presented his initial findings to reporters on Thursday.

Avakov's conclusion was decisive and potentially devastating for the new leaders' relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He said that deposed president Viktor Yanukovych had issued the 'criminal order' to fire at the protesters while agents from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) helped him plan and carry out the assault.

'FSB agents took part in both the planning and execution of the so-called anti-terrorist operation,' Ukrainian Security Service head Valentyn Nalyvaichenko told the same press briefing.

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Ukraine blames Russia for Kiev carnage

A top security official reportedly said that the interim Ukrainian government had also procured evidence that showed Russian security services assisted their counterparts in Ukraine to crush the anti-government protests, according to Associated Press, or AP, adding that there were indications thatsnipers, who were reportedly responsible for more than 100 deaths during the Kiev protests, were ordered into action by former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, a charge that he has denied.

"By this morning (Thursday) twelve people had been detained, all of them suspected of mass murder on Institutska Street," a spokesperson for the general prosecutor, reportedly told Reuters.

In an interview to AP on Wednesday, Yanukovych reportedly admitted that he was wrong to invite Russian troops to Crimea, which is now under Russian control.

Oleh Makhnitsky, Ukraine's acting prosecutor general, reportedly said Thursday that the chief of a specialized company called the "Black unit," which operated within the Berkut riot police, was also among those detained. The unit had reportedly handed out weapons for use against demonstrators, according to Interfax, a local news source.

"The police officers of this company were trained for special operations including the killing of people. They were overseen by the presidential administration, Makhnitsky said, according to Interfax.

While Ukraines interior minister Arsen Avakov presented the initial findings of a government report, which is due Thursday,on the events that occurred in Kiev, Ukrainian Security Service chief Valentyn Nalyvaychenko said that the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, operatives had been involved in planning operations against the protesters. Nalyvaychenko added that the FSB had sent ton of explosives and weapons to Ukraine in a plane, BBC reported.

NATO, meanwhile, has also expressed concerns regarding the presence of 40,000 Russian troops along the Ukrainian border and has warned that Russia is capable of attacking Ukraine within 12 hours of taking a decision to do so.

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