Ukraine on brink of state of emergency

Ukraine’s justice minister has issued a warning against anti-government protesters saying she will call for a state of emergency.

17:10 27 January 2014

Ukraine is on the brink of state of emergency. Across the country, unrest and occupations of municipal buildings are widespread.

The latest occupation by anti-government protesters is the ministry of Ukraine’s justice minister, who has issued a warning that she will call for a state of emergency unless they leave.

The crisis started following the president’s decision not to sign a deal with the European Union. This has escalated with the deaths of four activists in recent days.

Olena Lukash, the minister who is involved in the ongoing negotiations between the government and protest leaders said she would be "forced to turn to the Ukrainian president with a request to stop the negotiations unless the justice ministry building is vacated without delay and the negotiators are given a chance to find a peaceful solution to the conflict".

This isn’t the first time that somebody asked the president to take the move. Last week, the parliament of the Crimean Autonomous Region also urged the president to declare a state of emergency as this would mean deploying the army.