An American citizen of Ukranian origin says he was brutally clubbed by Ukranian police Tuesday night amid bloody clashes with protesters.
George Sayevich, a resident of Silver Spring, Md., near Washington, D.C., was recovering Wednesday in a Kiev hospital, where he told The Associated Press that police beat him mercilessly even when he was lying on the ground.
"I just got clubbed all over — on the head, broke my arm in two places," Sayevich told the wire service. "Finally, I fell on the ground, and rule is you cannot hit the guy on the ground ... it is against the rule of something — maybe even the United Nations. And they just kept hitting me and hitting me."
Scores of wounded protesters were reportedly being treated in Kiev's Hospital No. 17 on Wednesday afternoon.
"There are injuries caused by shrapnel, fire-arms, bullets and rubber bullets, shotgun bullets, plastic bullets, and there also was one knife wound," Nikolai Dyomin, Chief Doctor at the hospital, told the AP.
The chaotic confrontation between Ukranian authorities and anti-government protesters left at least 26 people dead — including 10 police officers.