Ukraine protesters leave justice ministry Published duration 27 January 2014

media caption The BBC's Matthew Price: "This is no longer a limited protest"

Ukrainian anti-government protesters have ended their occupation of the justice ministry after the minister threatened a state of emergency.

A spokesman for the protesters said they had left because they did not want to provoke the authorities.

The EU's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has brought forward a visit to Ukraine to Tuesday, citing "deep concern" about the situation.

Unrest has spread across Ukraine in recent days.

Protesters across the country have targeted, and in many cases occupied, the offices of regional authorities.

The protesters stormed the justice ministry building late on Sunday in a "symbolic act" to strip the authorities of justice.

Justice Minister Olena Lukash said she would request a state of emergency and demand all talks with the opposition cease.

Officials later said there was no plan to introduce such a measure.

The BBC's Duncan Crawford in Kiev says the protesters have now left the building, but a group of 30 is patrolling outside - dressed in military-style clothes, brandishing bats and refusing to let anyone in.

In a statement , Ms Ashton said she was "alarmed by reports that the government was planning to declare a state of emergency", and had brought forward a trip to Ukraine from Thursday to Tuesday.

She urged the government to repeal the anti-protest laws it passed on 16 January and the opposition to disassociate itself from violence, saying "the only solution to the crisis is a political one".

The crisis was sparked when President Viktor Yanukovych pulled out of a trade deal with the EU last November in favour of a $15bn (£9bn) bailout from Russia.

Thousands have joined protests against the government, erecting camps in Kiev and getting embroiled in sporadic clashes with security forces.

The unrest has escalated in recent days with the deaths of four activists.

Various protest groups have staged short occupations of several ministry buildings in the capital, Kiev, and attacked other municipal buildings across Ukraine.

Mr Yanukovych held a meeting with leaders of the three main opposition factions on Monday evening, including former boxer Vitali Klitschko.

image copyright AP image caption The protesters who had stormed the justice ministry on Sunday left on Monday afternoon

image copyright AFP image caption But the stand-off continues between protesters and police elsewhere in the city

image copyright AP image caption And legal moves continue that could see opposition leader Vitali Klitschko barred from running for president

Mr Klitschko was earlier ordered by a court to produce documentation for the time he spent in Germany and the US during his boxing career.

He could be stopped from running for president next year if the court rules he has paid taxes as a resident in a foreign country within the past 10 years.

The legal move comes after a change to the rules last year that critics say was aimed at disqualifying Mr Klitschko, who is likely to be the main opposition contender.

He has been a prominent pro-EU protester, and gains much of his support from the west of the country, where many people want closer ties with the EU and Western Europe.

Mr Yanukovych's power base is in the east and the south, which have close cultural and historical ties to Russia.