乌克兰警察与抗议者在首都基辅爆发冲突

Ukrainian police have clashed with anti-government protesters at Kyiv's city hall in an effort to drive the activists from the building.

Reports from the Ukrainian capital say the protesters fought back by spraying water from fire hoses at the baton-wielding police. 

The clash came just hours after hundreds of Ukrainian police began storming a protest encampment in central Kyiv early Wednesday, clashing with the demonstrators and ripping down their makeshift tent city.

The U.S. State Department issued a statement expressing "disgust" with the actions of Ukrainian authorities for introducing bulldozers and riot police armed with batons to the scene, rather than, in the words of Secretary of State John Kerry, "respect for democratic rights and human dignity."

On Tuesday,  European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met in the capital with senior government and opposition leaders in a push to ease the crisis.