Ukraine's western pro-European cities warn they could break away | The Guardian - Feb. 21, 2014 |

Police no longer seen on streets in Lviv while local troops say they will refuse to carry out certain commands

Lviv's affinity for Europe has long roots. Before falling under Soviet rule after the second world war, the city named Lemberg was a trading hub in central Europe, first within the Polish empire and then the Austrian empire.

There is little doubt that people in Lviv would oppose any deal between protesters and the government that did not include the immediate removal of president Viktor Yanukovych, who has tightened Ukraine's links to Russia.

"If Yanukovych was a gentleman, he would hang himself," said Olena, a student watching coverage of Kiev's protests on a big screen in central Lviv. "We are waiting for the moment he goes or the moment when something happens to him."

When deadly clashes broke out this week in Kiev, Lviv's police stations, the prosecutor's office and the local branch of the security services were attacked with cobblestones and molotov cocktails. Cars were set on fire; the burned chassis of many are strewn across the city.

Many condemn those behind the violence as foreigners - provocateurs acting in the interest of shadowy security forces or radical youths. But others describe it as a spontaneous outburst.