An artist paints the scene as anti-government protesters man a roadblock opposite a line of riot police in central Kiev.

DPA/Kiev

Skirmishes between Ukrainian opposition blocs were reported yesterday amid renewed anti-government protests in Kiev and work by the nation’s legislature on an amnesty for those charged with crimes during the country’s more than two months of unrest.

The amnesty measure is another attempt by the government to placate the demonstrators, who have maintained a steady presence across the country since November, when the government dropped an agreement  for closer ties to the European Union and opted to strengthen business ties to Russia.

The move enraged pro-European segments of the country, which saw it as a move away from democracy.

The government has seemed unsure how to respond to the anger, at times clamping down with troops and passing laws limiting the right to stage protests.

But those moves seem to have only fired up activists, which led to the government’s resignation on Tuesday even as the Verkhovna Rada repealed the unpopular measures.

Even the amnesty debate threatened to prompt further dispute, with opposition leaders saying that they would not accept an amnesty conditional upon the protests ending, said former professional boxing champion and opposition party leader Vitali Klitschko.

“The people came out onto the street to change the situation in the country. To say now: ‘We’ll only let people free, if the demonstrators go home’ is unacceptable,” he said.

About 100 would remain in prison without the amnesty.

Protesters continued to call for President Viktor Yanukovych to step down.

Members of another opposition party, Fatherland, warned of renewed violence.

Demonstrators on Kiev’s Independence Square tried to convince more radical elements to vacate government buildings they have occupied for several days – a key demand of the government, reported the Itar-Tass news agency.

The protests have, so far, resulted in $2.5mn worth of damage, Kiev First Deputy Mayor Anatoli Golubchenko told the news agency.

Meanwhile, activists linked to the Svoboda (Freedom) party reportedly used tear gas as they attempted to occupy an administrative building in the city of Lviv and take it from a different group of anti-government activists, reported Itar-Tass.

Parliamentary debate about the amnesty took a slow start yesterday.

Opposition members argued that the amnesty must include language to exclude all activities at Independence Square and other sites where demonstrators converged.

“The authorities and opposition continue very uneasy dialogue. We should together do our best to stabilise the situation,” said acting Prime Minister Sergei Arbuzov.

He said a deal would only be reached with mutual respect and dialogue from both sides.

However, some of the debate was also focused on work to rewrite the constitution, which currently consolidates power with the presidency.

Officials said it could be ready by March.

The debate was also coloured by discussion about financial deals between Russia and Ukraine, which were key to Ukraine’s decision to opt for closer Russian ties in late 2013.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated that all financial promises to Ukraine must be met, reported Itar-Tass, with a tranche of $2bn set to be transmitted soon.

But Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev noted that Ukraine’s debt to Russia has already hit $2.7bn.

Past debt disputes between the countries have led Russia to shut off gas shipments.

A share of those shipments are routed onward to the rest of Europe, meaning a shutdown to Ukraine can have a wide impact.

US ratings agency Standard & Poor’s on Tuesday downgraded Ukraine’s credit rating to CCC+, with a negative forecast.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for the demonstrators to be heard.

The pressure of the demonstrations has led to “serious talks on necessary political reforms” in Ukraine, Merkel said, voicing support for the “justified demands of the opposition”.

“They must be heard,” she said.

The situation in Ukraine was also a topic of discussion when the leaders of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic met later in Budapest, reported Itar-Tass.