Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Friday said his government, with help from the European Union, had reached a deal with the opposition to end the bloodshed that has left more than 90 dead this week.
Yanukovych promised to form a coalition government and offered up early elections in December. However, our sources on the ground tell us that opposition leaders, who have been calling for the president's resignation since November, will not accept this deal, and the fight isn't over.
The offer comes at the tail end of the bloodiest week in Ukraine's post-Soviet history. After weeks of calm in January, protesters reassembled on Tuesday and clashed with police in streets, heaving Molotov cocktails, paving stones and other homemade weapons. Police responded with shotgun fire, tear gas, a water cannon and Molotov cocktails of their own.
After Tuesday's conflict left dozens dead, several world leaders, including Vice President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, urged Yanukovych to end the violence. Meanwhile, European Union leaders weighed sanctions specifically targeting the Ukrainian government. They voted to impose asset freezes and visa bans on Thursday, when 75 died after a shaky truce deal with Yanukovych fell apart.