After months of oscillating between calm and clashes, the protests in Kiev have erupted into full-blown battle as at least 25 protesters died over night between Tuesday and yesterday. There are also reports that policemen were killed during their attempts to remove demonstrators from a protest camp in Independence Square.

The protests broke out after the government rejected a far-reaching accord with the European Union in favour of stronger ties with Russia in November 2013. President Viktor Yanukovych said that he had already made several attempts to compromise, but that opposition leaders “crossed a line when they called people to arms.”

Yanukovych said opposition leaders had to “draw a boundary between themselves and radical forces,” or else “acknowledge that they are supporting radicals. Then the conversation... will already be of a different kind.” What Yanukovych fails to appreciate is that his actions in moving Ukraine towards Russia precipitated this crisis — and having his security forces moving in on protesters elevates this struggle to a new and dangerous level. Emergency talks are needed, and cooler heads need to prevail.