Ukraine: police storm protest camp in centre of Kiev An opposition MP laid down on the snow try to block a police vehicle from advancing to the camp. Several protesters were injured. Some policemen helped injured activists up from the ground and moved them away. In sub-zero temperatures protesters urged each other through the loudspeaker system not to use force against the police on Independence Square, known as the Maidan in Kiev. The European Union said it was seeking to contact Ukrainian authorities to prevent the use of violence against citizens, after riot police stormed the square. "The EU Delegation to Ukraine is now trying to get in touch with competent and responsible people in the law-enforcing agencies in order to prevent the use of violence against ordinary citizens," it wrote on its Facebook page. We follow events in and around Maidan at this moment with great concern. Repression is not way forward for Ukraine - reform should be," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt wrote on Twitter in one of the first international reactions. The protests began in late November when president Victor Yanukovych backed away from a pact that would deepen the former Soviet republic's economic ties with the 28-nation EU - a pact that surveys showed was supported by nearly half the country's people. The agreement would make Ukraine more Western-oriented and would be a significant loss of face for Russia, which has either controlled or heavily influenced Ukraine for centuries. The confrontation at the protest camp unfolded as EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland were in the city to try to talk to the government and the opposition and work out a solution. Aiming to defuse a political standoff that threatens his leadership, Mr Yanukovych had called on Tuesday for the release of the demonstrators arrested in the massive protests sweeping Kiev and vowed that Ukraine is still interested in integrating with Europe. His efforts, however, stopped far short of opposition demands that his government resign, and the two sides appeared no closer to a resolution that would chart out a secure future for their economically troubled nation. Soon after Mr Yanukovych spoke in a televised broadcast, top opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk told demonstrators at the square that the protest leaders were still insisting on their key demands: that Yanukovych fire the government, appoint a new one committed to signing an association agreement with the EU, release all the arrested protesters, and punish the police who beat peaceful demonstrators. Riot police have twice previously dispersed demonstrators with clubs and tear gas, beating some severely enough to send them to intensive care. Mr Yanukovych, in a televised meeting with Ukraine's three previous presidents, said he asked the prosecutor-general to ensure the release of some of the protesters - those who haven't committed grave crimes and who have children or families. "Certainly, such people will be released," the president said. Investigations into the actions of the freed protesters would still continue, he said. Mr Yanukovych also vowed to renew talks with the EU on the trade and political agreement. He indicated he was still willing to sign the EU deal at a summit in spring, but only if the EU can offer better financial terms. He said at present, the EU agreement could cost economically struggling Ukraine billions in lost trade with Russia, which has used trade threats to try to keep Ukraine in its orbit. "We want to achieve conditions that satisfy Ukraine, Ukrainian producers, the Ukrainian people," Mr Yanukovych said in the televised meeting. "If we find understanding and if such compromises are reached, the signature will be put" on paper.