Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, blamed politicians from the European Union and the United States for encouraging the fighting over the past three days. The situation in the city, he warned, was “getting out of control.” 
 
 “It seems someone is interested in this chaos,” Mr. Lavrov said Tuesday at a news conference in Moscow. 
 
 He noted that American diplomats had said in December at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that the Ukrainian government should heed the opinion of the population and seek greater integration with Europe or risk instability. “What was this, prophecy or a prediction?” he said. 
 
 The European Union issued no official response to Mr. Lavrov, but its officials say it has never condoned or encouraged violence, as Mr. Lavrov seemed to suggest it had done by having an official mingle with the protesters when they first turned out two months ago. 
 
 At a meeting in Brussels on Monday, European foreign ministers released a final statement on Ukraine saying that “the E.U. remains committed to Ukraine’s political association and economic integration” with Europe “as soon as Ukraine is ready.” 
 
 Renewed Clashes in Kiev Trade Unions Building Independence Square Dynamo Stadium POLICE LINE Crowd on weekdays DOWNTOWN KIEV Parliament City Hall taken by protesters 1,000 FEET Recent clashes Protesters tried to march to Parliament on Sunday but were stopped by riot police. Clashes continued here through the week. It remains unclear where the protesters killed on Wednesday died. Young men captured Protesters detained men they said were pro-government provocateurs in this area on Tuesday and took them to the Trade Unions Building for questioning. Protest barricades Protesters barricaded this portion of the city in December and have remained since. The size of the crowd varies and is smaller on weekdays. 
 
 Protest leaders said the authorities seemed to be giving the more radical protesters free rein while going out of their way to frighten more moderate ones, particularly with the threatening text messages sent on Tuesday. 
 
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 The phrasing of the message, about participating in a “mass disturbance,” echoed language in a new law making it a crime to participate in a protest deemed violent. The law took effect on Tuesday. And protesters were concerned that the government seemed to be using cutting-edge technology from the advertising industry to pinpoint people for political profiling. 
 
 Three cellphone companies in Ukraine — Kyivstar, MTS and Life — denied that they had provided the location data to the government or had sent the text messages, the newspaper Ukrainskaya Pravda reported. Kyivstar suggested that it was instead the work of a “pirate” cellphone tower set up in the area. 
 
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 The messages appeared to have little effect. Three hours after they were sent, riot police officers pushed past barricades of burned buses at that site and were met by a crowd of protesters in ski masks and bicycle helmets, carrying sticks and ready to fight. 
 
 The police fired plastic bullets and threw stun grenades. They pressed as far as a cobblestone-throwing catapult built by protesters the day before and dismantled it before retreating. 
 
 The opposition leaders who are members of parliamentary factions face a difficult choice over whether to embrace or denounce the more radical groups as the demonstrations grow more violent. So far, the politicians have condemned those fighting with the police as not representing the aspirations of the larger number of peaceful protesters who have gathered in Independence Square since November in support of closer economic integration with the European Union. 
 
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 Some of those fighting the police, carrying baseball bats and throwing gasoline bombs say they are supporters of the European free-trade agreement whose rejection by Mr. Yanukovich set off the protests. 
 
 But other groups have also appeared in Kiev, adding to the sense of chaos. Young men carrying sticks wandered side streets near the central square threatening to beat protesters who walked alone. One group shattered a shop window. 
 
 The opposition leaders have said they believe that these people are soccer hooligans and unemployed men bused into Kiev by the government to provide a proxy force to intimidate protesters and darken the image of the movement by highlighting the violence. 
 
 “Disorders should not be allowed to happen,” Vitali Klitschko, a former boxing champion and the leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform, wrote on Twitter. “This is a plan of authorities to introduce a state of emergency.” 
 
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 Early Tuesday, opposition activists detained about a dozen of these rival young men and marched them to one of several buildings occupied by protesters, where several admitted in videotaped conversations that they had been promised 200 hryvnia, or about $25, to cause trouble. But they were not able to explain clearly who had hired them. 
 
 A civic activist who has been prominent in the movement, Ihor Lutsenko, was missing on Tuesday after men forced him into a car in the parking lot of a hospital, according to a Facebook post by his wife. 
 
 The protests, which peaked in December, had seemed to be fading, but were re-energized by opposition to the new laws against public assembly. ||||| MOSCOW/KIEV Russia told European governments on Tuesday to stop meddling in Ukraine's political crisis and said events could be spinning out of control in Kiev after violence that left vehicles burning in the streets. 
 
 Moscow, which sees its fellow former Soviet republic as part of its traditional sphere of influence, has watched nervously as protests against President Viktor Yanukovich's decision to shun a trade pact with the European Union have turned violent. 
 
 Scores of police and demonstrators have been hurt since Yanukovich, who received a multi-billion-dollar bailout package from Moscow after he spurned the EU deal, angered opponents by signing sweeping laws to curb public protests. 
 
 Criticizing "members of certain European governments" for visiting the protesters in Kiev, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "We would prefer that some of our European colleagues refrained from acting unceremoniously over the Ukrainian crisis. 
 
 "It is just distasteful," he said, adding that such action had helped encourage the protests. 
 
 In December, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Guido Westerwelle, at the time Germany's foreign minister, visited the protesters. 
 
 EU ministers have also denounced the new laws curbing public protests as "anti-democratic". 
 
 Lavrov criticized the protesters for using "violence, attacks on police, arson, Molotov cocktails and explosive devices" and he called their behavior a "complete violation of all European standards of behavior". 
 
 Russian state television has been repeatedly showing footage of the clashes and what appears to be protesters smashing the windows of a bus, underlining the case for the tough legislation and police action to curb violence. 
 
 "OUT OF CONTROL" 
 
 "I personally think that these calls for prudence, which the leaders of the opposition and Vitaly Klitschko in particular are now making, show that the situation is spinning out of control," Lavrov said. 
 
 Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said in an interview with Russian state broadcaster Russia 24 the government would use force if clashes in Kiev do not cease. 
 
 "If the provocateurs do not stop, then the authorities will have no other choice but to use force under the law to protect our people," said Azarov. 
 
 One of Lavrov's deputies, Grigory Karasin, spoke by telephone with a Ukrainian deputy foreign minister on Tuesday and expressed "concern about provocative actions by radical opposition forces", the Russian Foreign Ministry said. 
 
 It said Russia supported a Ukrainian statement that promised the government would do all it can to resolve the situation peacefully through dialogue - a pledge some opposition protesters suspect was a bid to buy time. 
 
 "We are waiting to see what these talks produce, but there's little hope. Yanukovich is pretending he does not see us or hear us," said Vasyl Somkovych, 30, a protester from the region of Ivano-Frankivsk in largely pro-European western Ukraine. 
 
 In Kiev, a presidential aide ruled out the declaration of a state of emergency to quell the unrest. 
 
 Asked by a journalist if the presidency was considering such a step, Andriy Klyuev, secretary of the National Council of Security and Defense, said: "There will be no declaration of a state of emergency. 
 
 On Tuesday, 2,000-3,000 protesters faced about 1,000 police in central Kiev, where Reuters reporters saw nine burnt-out buses and trucks, smoke wafting from some of the tyres. 
 
 Cobblestones were strewn across a main street where violence erupted on Sunday. Priests were among people walking in an area between a police line and a protesters' barricade. 
 
 Police periodically beat their shields with truncheons and constantly boomed out warnings to protesters through megaphones. 
 
 "We will act according to the situation," said Sergei, 45, a protester from western Ukraine. "If the OMON (riot police) attack, we will respond with full force." 
 
 (Editing by Gareth Jones and Janet Lawrence) nL5N0KV115 ||||| KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych refused to meet Tuesday with an opposition leader who came to his office hoping for negotiations, dimming hopes for a resolution soon to the political crisis that has escalated into vicious street clashes between protesters and police. 
 
 Protesters burn car tires as they clash with police in central Kiev, Ukraine, early Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. After a night of vicious street battles, anti-government protesters and police clashed again... (Associated Press) 
 
 Opposition supporters, right, escort people believed to be government-hired thugs away from an opposition camp in central Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. About thirty young men believed to be hired... (Associated Press) 
 
 Protesters clad in improvised protective gear prepare for a clash with police in central Kiev, Ukraine, early Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. After a night of vicious street battles, anti-government protesters... (Associated Press) 
 
 Protesters react to tear gas as they clash with police, in central Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2014. After a night of vicious streets battles, anti-government protesters and police clashed anew Monday... (Associated Press) 
 
 Protesters clad in improvised protective gear prepare for a clash with police in central Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2014. After a night of vicious streets battles, anti-government protesters and... (Associated Press) 
 
 An opposition supporter, right, escorts people believed to be government-hired thugs away from an opposition camp in central Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. About thirty young men believed to be... (Associated Press) 
 
 Opposition supporters, left, and, second from left, escort people believed to be government-hired thugs away from an opposition camp in central Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. About thirty young... (Associated Press) 
 
 Protesters assist a wounded comrade, in central Kiev, Ukraine, early Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. After a night of vicious street battles, anti-government protesters and police clashed again Monday in Ukraine's... (Associated Press) 
 
 Protesters assist a wounded comrade, in central Kiev, Ukraine, early Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. After a night of vicious street battles, anti-government protesters and police clashed again Monday in Ukraine's... (Associated Press) 
 
 Protesters fire at police with fireworks, in central Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2014. After a night of vicious streets battles, anti-government protesters and police clashed anew Monday in the Ukrainian... (Associated Press) 
 
 A protester stands on top of a barricade during during clashes with police in central Kiev, Ukraine, early Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014. After a night of vicious street battles, anti-government protesters and... (Associated Press) 
 
 Ukraine's two-month standoff shifted into a new phase after Yanukovych pushed through harsh anti-protest laws last week in an attempt to quash the demonstrations calling for his ouster. The mass protests in Kiev, the capital, erupted after Yanukovych spurned a pact with the European Union in favor of close ties with Russia, which offered him a $15 billion bailout. 
 
 Seeing the government ignore their demands and opposition leaders unable to present a coherent plan or even select a single leader, radical protesters have clashed with riot police in Kiev since Sunday, hurling stones and fire bombs at police and getting hit with tear gas and rubber bullets in return. 
 
 "A revolution is under way in Ukraine," said Petro Denkovets, 34, an entrepreneur. "What revolution takes place peacefully? Each side is showing its strengths. The government, its troops, and we, our fearlessness." 
 
 In a bid to ease the crisis, opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, who is a heavyweight boxing champion, went to Yanukovych's office for face-to-face talks on Tuesday, but was received only by his aides. The aides were part of a working group that Yanukovych told to hold negotiations with the opposition. 
 
 Yanukovych's office said the president was in a meeting at the time. But Klitschko held out hope that the leader would receive him later Tuesday. 
 
 "The center of the city of Kiev has been burning for two days," a disappointed Klitschko said. "The president sits two blocks away and does not hear it." 
 
 Despite heavy snowfall and freezing temperatures, several thousand protesters remained camped outside a government district in Kiev in front of rows of helmeted riot police who hid behind metal shields. Charred buses stood covered with ice, the ground was dotted with stones and the popular rock song "I will not give up without a fight" blared over the crowd. 
 
 The protesters had managed to hold their ground overnight, even as police moved in to dismantle some barricades. Fighting lulled on Tuesday morning, after Orthodox priests intervened and asked both sides for calm. 
 
 Still, nearly 1,500 activists sought medical help after the clashes, according to Oleh Musiy, who runs the protesters' medical team. 
 
 Opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who had previously condemned violent protests, said the situation has changed. 
 
 "People have received the right to switch from peaceful to non-peaceful protest because the deafness of the authorities and their disregard for the people," he said Tuesday. 
 
 His ally, the jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, also urged Ukrainians to go to the barricades. 
 
 "There is no other way for the people to deal with the mafia. Those standing on the front lines for Ukraine are heroes!" Tymoshenko said in a statement. 
 
 Heeding the call, young women worked Tuesday to clear the protest site of debris. Nearby, middle-aged men and women produced a drum beat of protest by hitting metal barrels and shields with sticks. In one dramatic scene, three black-robed Orthodox priests, holding crosses and icons, walked in between the police and the protesters, causing the fighting to stop. 
 
 During the clashes Monday night, Klitschko claimed that groups of young men had been hired by pro-government forces to smash shop windows and set cars ablaze in Kiev to create a pretext for the government to introduce martial law. 
 
 Protesters chased the men around, captured them and took them to be questioned. In a video broadcast by several Ukrainian media organizations, the activists showed a hammer and other tools used by the assailants. The protesters then marched the captives down the street and forced them to apologize. 
 
 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, meanwhile, accused the West of instigating the protests and some EU politicians of joining them. 
 
 "We would prefer that our European colleagues, at least some of them, don't behave in such an unceremonious way in connection with the Ukrainian crisis," he said. "It's simply unseemly and this is what is heating up the situation."
– Scourge of the modern protester: Ukraine demonstrators this morning got this text on their cell phones: “Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance," reports the New York Times. The threat is clear enough, given that the government also made it a crime punishable by prison to take part in such demonstrations. But the attempt to scare away protesters didn't work—clashes with police continued in Kiev. Protesters have been taking to the streets for two months now, angry that President Viktor Yanukovych rejected a trade pact with the EU in favor of stronger ties with Russia. An opposition leader arrived at Yanukovych's office today but was rebuffed by the leader, reports AP. Russia, meanwhile, accused European nations of encouraging the protests and demanded that they stop "meddling," reports Reuters. "The situation is spinning out of control," says Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.