烏克蘭警察與抗議者在首都基輔爆發衝突

Ukrainian police have clashed with anti-government protesters at Kyiv's city hall in an effort to drive the activists from the building.

Reports from the Ukrainian capital say the protesters fought back by spraying water from fire hoses at the baton-wielding police.

The clash came just hours after hundreds of Ukrainian police began storming a protest encampment in central Kyiv early Wednesday, clashing with the demonstrators and ripping down their makeshift tent city.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement expressing "disgust" with the actions of Ukrainian authorities for introducing bulldozers and riot police armed with batons to the scene, rather than, in the words of Secretary of State John Kerry, "respect for democratic rights and human dignity."

On Tuesday, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met in the capital with senior government and opposition leaders in a push to ease the crisis.烏克蘭警察在基輔市政廳與反政府抗議者發生衝突，警察試圖將活動人士趕出市政廳。

來自烏克蘭首都的報道說，抗議者們進行反擊，用滅火水龍攻擊揮動警棍的警察。

在爆發衝突的幾小時前，數百名烏克蘭警察星期三凌晨開始衝擊基輔市中心的一個抗議者營地，與反政府示威者發生衝突，並拉倒他們搭建的臨時住所。

美國國務院發表聲明，對烏克蘭當局出動推土機和配備警棍的防暴警察壓制抗議者的舉動表示“厭惡”。美國國務卿克里說，烏克蘭當局應當尊重民主權利和人類尊嚴。

星期二，歐盟外交政策負責人阿什頓與美國助理國務卿紐蘭德在基輔會見烏克蘭政府高層官員以及反對派領導人，力圖化解這場危機。