Ukraine ‘On Brink of Civil War'

As protests continue to spread beyond Kiev, Leonid Kravchuk, Ukraine’s first post-independence president, is saying that the country is on the “brink of civil war.” Kravchuk opened the parliament to debate on amnesty for protesters, which he argues should be conditional on demonstrators leaving the buildings they have taken over. The demonstrators have so far ruled that out and are instead demanding early elections. “It is a revolution. It is a dramatic situation in which we must act with the greatest responsibility," he said to a standing ovation. The parliament has, meanwhile, removed the anti-protest law that sparked the most recent protests.