Ukrainian law enforcement officials have used firearms in an ongoing standoff with protesters in line with the law On Police so as to provide covering fire for their unarmed colleagues, Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko said in a statement.

The law enforcement officials were observing the truce, "but this morning they came under fire from the seized conservatory building and later from the crowd," he said.

"Taking into account that police perform their duties on maintaining public order without firearms, it was decided to pull out the forces toward the government neighborhood. To minimize losses among the unarmed policemen while they were retreating from the area under fire, armed security forces arrived at the scene. They used weapons in line with the Ukrainian law On Police," Zakharchenko said in the statement posted on the Interior Ministry Web site on Friday.

"When an outrage is committed in the state and when attacks on the people and looting are spreading, when people don't know what to expect further, it is the people in uniform's duty to protect their citizens," Zakharchenko said.

"When the media say that 13 people died on one side and 67 on the other, this sounds wild for me, because 80 our citizens have died," Zakharchenko said. "These are Ukrainians who are being deluded by skillful propaganda," he said.

"It is sad that someone is trying to keep the law enforcement and [other] people on the different sides of the barricades. Trying to split the people. Police are from the people, and they have always been with the people. You should understand that, by defending the extremists, you are fighting not against the government or the police, but you are fighting against yourself and your homeland," he said.

"The Interior Ministry has always been open to any negotiations with both policymakers and public figures, but we don't see reciprocal steps so far," Zakharchenko said.