Arrest warrant for 'mass killings of civilians' issued for Yanukovych

A "mass killings" arrest warrant was issued for ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Monday. Avakov, now Ukraine's top law enforcement official, said on his Facebook page an arrest warrant has been issued for Yanukovych and "other [former] government officials" who were not named, the Kiev Post reported. The warrant for "mass killings of civilians" did not spell out which killings, but the Post said it was presumed the investigation centers on whether Yanukovych hired snipers or ordered riot police to shoot demonstrators in January and February. Nearly 100 civilians have been killed in the demonstrations, including at least 75 people last week, triggering Yanukovych's flight from Kiev and eventual impeachment Saturday. Avakov said authorities lost Yanukovych early Monday near his residence in the Balaklava district of Crimea where he released his guards from duty. Avakov said a criminal case also was opened against Yevhen Zhylyn, leader of Oplot, a pro-government militant group in Kharkiv. The organization gained notoriety when it released a video on YouTube featuring Zhylyn saying the group cut the ear of a demonstrator and telling people to "get ready for bloodshed." Oleksandr Yefremov, head of Yanukovych's Party of Regions, announced Monday the party would join the opposition to the new interim government formed and led by acting president Oleksandr Turchynov, the Post said "The Party of Regions faction members had a meeting. Since you've taken over power and you have all the chances to form new coalition government, we decided to go into the opposition," Yefremov said. "We took a decision that we are going in opposition." Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reforms party head Vitali Klitschko said "people are waiting for justice and lustration of authorities." Among the some of the steps he proposed were releasing remaining political prisoners, independent investigations into the accusations of criminal activities of Yanukovych's regime and his allies, and investigations into judges who persecuted activists. Appointing a new Central Election Commission quickly was crucial to efforts to conduct a presidential election May 24, Klitschko said. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, has maintained opposition leaders "seized power" illegally and Moscow recalled its ambassador to Kiev, the Times said. Maintaining a high-level dialogue on developments in Ukraine, Lavrov has spoken by telephone with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has voiced support actions taken by Ukraine's lawmakers. Washington and the European Union were scrambling Monday to develop a rescue deal for Ukraine and invited Russia to participate, the Wall Street Journal reported. A delegation of EU officials led by foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was to arrive in Kiev Monday to try to broker a bailout as Ukrainian politicians struggled to form a government by Tuesday. Ashton was "expected to meet key stakeholders and discuss the support of the European Union for a lasting solution to the political crisis and measures to stabilize the economic situation," her office said in a statement. The possible Western bailout would likely to be led by the International Monetary Fund, officials said. Its amount could exceed the $27.5 billion in seven years that EU officials had considered linking to an EU political-association and free-trade agreement, the Journal said. Yanukovych snubbed that deal in late November in favor of a $15 billion Russian deal, sparking street protests in Kiev that mushroomed into civil unrest and a revolutionary movement in some cities -- culminating in Yanukovych's removal Saturday after he fled the capital for Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine. Ukraine's Parliament voted unanimously to impeach Yanukovych and scheduled new presidential elections. In Kiev, the barricades around Independence Square remained in place Monday, but the lines of riot police were gone. U.S. officials, not wanting to provoke Russian intervention in a country Moscow has long considered a strategic ally, sought to work with the Kremlin to fashion the proposed multibillion-dollar International Monetary Fund rescue package, the Journal said. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov -- who discussed the bailout with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew Sunday -- didn't rule out supporting the IMF, the Journal said. Siluanov said Moscow placed its assistance package for Kiev on hold. "The fund has the experience of supporting countries in difficult situations and they have a well-established set of tools to help in such cases," Siluanov said at a Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Sydney.