Ukraine PM Apologises for Police Crackdown on Protests

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov apologized on Tuesday for a brutal police crackdown on Kiev protests over the weekend that drew firm Western condemnation and sparked even bigger rallies.

"On behalf of our government, I would like to apologize for the actions of our law enforcement authorities on Maidan (Independence Square)," Azarov told an emergency parliament session to chants of "resignation" from pro-EU opposition lawmakers.

Protests over the Ukrainian government's decision to abandon a historic political and trade agreement with the EU has sparked the largest wave of protests in the ex-Soviet nation since the 2004 pro-democracy Orange Revolution.

More than 30 protesters were injured when police used tear gas and batons to push hundreds of angry Ukrainians off Kiev's iconic Independence Square early Saturday.

The action prompted more than 100,000 people to turn out for another demonstration on Sunday that degenerated into bloody violence outside the presidential administration building.

Three leading opposition parties had demanded Azarov's attendance at a parliament session Tuesday during which lawmakers were due to consider a no-confidence motion in the government.

The measure is unlikely to pass if put to a vote because President Viktor Yanukovych's ruling Regions Party has firm control of the chamber.

But tens of thousands of pro-EU protesters rallied outside the Verkhovna Rada parliament building on Tuesday calling on both Azarov and Yanukovych, who went on a three-day trip to China, to step down.