Protesters in Ukraine have toppled a statue of Vladimir Lenin in Kiev and smashed it with hammers as hundreds of thousands flooded the capital, the BBC News reported. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in the Ukrainian capital Kiev seeking the resignation of the government for refusing a deal on closer ties with the European Union. President Viktor Yanukovych has said he shelved the EU deal after Russian opposition. Protest leaders have given him 48 hours to dismiss the government. As darkness fell, protesters were blockading key government buildings with cars, barricades and tents. The European Commission has said EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will travel to Ukraine this week "to support a way out of the political crisis".