KIEV, Ukraine, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Government officials are demanding to know which of the protest groups occupying City Hall in Kiev, Ukraine, looted and vandalized the building.
City officials aligned with the national government, which had been the subject of a weeks-long protest over a decision to move away from an alliance with the European Union, said when they returned to their offices Monday they arrived to find massive disarray. Electronics had been stolen or smashed. Walls had holes and were covered with graffiti. One room reeked of urine and others of gasoline, cigarette smoke, rotting food and trash.
The Kiev Post said several loosely affiliated protest groups had taken control of City Hall at various points during the protests, some being more radical than others. Witnesses who were there when protesters first stormed the building said it was treated respectfully and access was limited to the first two floors. Subsequently, as the anti-government protests dragged on and became more violent by the day, more extreme groups holed up there, though no group has taken responsibility for the vandalism.
