Ukraine President Offers Early Elections, But Opposition Is Wary

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 in Kiev this week.

Yanukovych promised to form a coalition government and offered up early elections that would take place this 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. Read more...