After the deaths of three protesters during clashes with riot police and failed negotiations with the Ukraine President, protesters stormed government offices on Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
Opposition leaders gave President Viktor Yanukovych a Thursday deadline to make a move on their demands or protesters would once again face-off with riot police in capital city of Kiev where tensions have been brewing for the past two months, according to the AP.
Orthodox priests tried to maintain the cease-fire as the deadline passed but protesters stormed government offices in three different cities throughout Kiev, the AP reported.
Hundreds of protesters broke into the office of regional governor Oleh Salo in the city of Lviv near the border of Poland, about 280 miles from Kiev, according to the AP.
The protesters shouted "Revolution!" and also sang Christmas carols after forcing the governor to sign a letter of resignation, the AP reported. Salo retracted his signature afterwards and said he was "coerced."
In the city of Rivne, protesters broke the windows and doors of the governor's office and shouted "Down with the gang!" which is a reference to the Yanukovych government. After breaking their way into the office, they proceeded to sing the national anthem, the AP reported.
Protesters have kept riot police away from Kiev's main square for almost two months, but on Wednesday riot police tried to dismantle the group ending in a violent confrontation that killed two people who were shot, according to the AP.
The opposition blamed the shooting on riot police but the government said thursday the two men died from shotgun wounds, guns which the police do not carry, the AP reported. The Interior Ministry added that the protesters shot the men in order to "escalate the crisis."
Protesters are also claiming five people died on Wednesday but they have no proof because authorities removed the bodies from the scene, according to the AP. After the deadly clashes, protesters seemed willing to try another cease-fire.
"We're ready to wait so that new victims don't appear," said 30-year-old demonstrator Anatoly Lovchenko. "But if the government doesn't listen to our demands, we'll start up again."
