Ukraine's prime minister on Thursday blamed ousted President Viktor Yanukovych for the deaths of dozens of anti-government protesters shot by police snipers and urged Russia to hand him over to face charges, according to the Associated Press.
Arseniy Yatseniuk blamed the killing of more than 100 protesters in mid-February on the Berkut riot police but said Yanukovych had been involved in planning the operation, the AP reported.
Reports that Russia had flown explosives into Ukraine as the protest worsened could strain ties with Ukraine's former Soviet master, which annexed the Crimean region after Yanukovych's removal from power in what has become the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War, according to the AP.
Yanukovych has taken refuge in Russia and denied ordering the shootings, the AP reported.
The prosecutor general said 12 members of the Berkut had been detained on suspicion of shooting peaceful participants in the protests, the AP reported.
"The former government of the country gave criminal orders and a huge number of people suffered in the 'mincer'," Interior Minister Arsen Avakov told a news conference that announced the initial findings of an investigation into the shooting, according to the AP.
On Feb. 20 rooftop snipers picked off protesters and medical workers many of whom died on the spot from shots to the neck and scores of bodies were left strewn on the ground in central Kiev, the AP reported. The killings followed three months of peaceful protests over Yanukovych's decision to cut ties with Europe and reach an agreement with Russia.
During an interview Yanukovych was asked if he held the deposed president responsible for the protesters' deaths and Yatseniuk said it was a matter for the prosecutor general to decide, according to the AP.
"As a politician I can state that the former president is personally responsible and we would like to bring ... (him) to justice," Yanukovych said, the AP reported. "It is unacceptable when the Russian Federation covers for a man who is under investigation for the charges of mass murder and crimes against humanity."
