Ukraine's new Western-backed leaders today blamed Russian agents and the ousted pro-Kremlin president for organising two days of carnage in Kiev that killed nearly 90 supporters of closer EU ties.
The explosive allegation were levelled only moments after Russia lashed out at NATO for building up the defences of ex-Soviet nations and brandished the threat of further hikes in the price Ukraine must pay for gas after ousting its Kremlin-backed leaders.
The February unrest in Kiev has left deep scars on a nation trying to overcome the most trying episode in its post-Soviet history.
The furious battle for Ukraine's future between Moscow and the West has exposed the deep divide that splits the nation of 46 million between those who see themselves as either culturally tied to Russia and or a part of a broader Europe.
Those tensions exploded on February 18 when gunshots in the heart of Kiev heralded the start of nearly three days of pitch battles between riot police and protesters -- some armed with nothing more than metal shield -- that killed scores dead.
Both sides have blamed the other for starting the violence. But no formal probe results had been unveiled in Kiev until acting interior minister Arsen Avakov presented his initial findings to reporters today.
Avakov's conclusion was decisive and potentially devastating for the new leaders' future relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The acting interior minister said that deposed president Viktor Yanukovych had issued the "criminal order" to fire at the protesters while agents from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) helped him plan and carry out the assault.
"FSB agents took part in both the planning and execution of the so-called anti-terrorist operation," Avakov told reporters.
But an FSB spokesman told Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency that Ukraine's allegations were patently false.
"Let those allegations remain on the conscience of the Ukrainian security service," the unnamed FSB official said.
AFP reporters in February saw some protesters who were armed with hunting rifles and pistols.
But their number was small and a predominant majority of the tens of thousands who came out the streets were either unarmed or carrying wooden or metal shields.
