Holding referendums on the status of their respective regions was among the main demands posed by anti-Maidan activists, who have taken over a number of governmental buildings in eastern Ukraine this week.
Ukrainian law currently does not allow regions to hold referendums separately from the rest of the country. It was one of the main arguments Kiev voiced in declaring illegal last month's referendum in Crimea, which ended with the peninsula's seceding from Ukraine and joining Russia.
Speaking in Donetsk, one of the regions engulfed by the anti-Kiev protests, Yatsenyuk said his government wants greater autonomy for Ukrainian regions, including the abolition of the offices of capital-appointed governors.
He was speaking just as a 48-hour deadline, which Kiev gave to protesters to liberate the seized buildings, expired. Previously the central authorities threatened to use force, including that of the military and even threatened their opponents as terrorists, unless they withdrew from the buildings.
The U-turn comes after Ukraine's elite Alpha unit reportedly refused to obey an order to besiege protester-held buildings. At a session of law enforcement officials in Donetsk, one of the Alpha commanders said that he and his men are a force intended for rescuing hostages and fighting terrorism and will only act in accordance with the law, local media reported.
Comment: The demonstrators pictured above are in stark contrast to the hooded fascist in Maidan square, who were armed with clubs, chains, molotov cocktails and were wearing nazi insignia. These people seen above are more convincing of being a real people's movement against tyranny and oppression. That the West chooses to put their support behind the Maidan crowd shows clearly what has become of the West.
Comment: US - Police: Baby died from morphine in breast milk