The leader of the Batkivschyna faction in parliament, Arseniy Yatseniuk, has said that provocations during rallies on May 18 were personally led by Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Andriy Kliuyev.

"This special operation on the beating of journalists and ordinary citizens was personally led by National Security and Defense Council Secretary Andriy Petrovych Kliuyev," he said on the Freedom of Speech program on ICTV Channel late on Monday.

"All forces and means were used to resist the opposition, and the Interior Ministry set up an operational headquarters to which even SBU employees reported," he added.

He said that the opposition in parliament is planning to demand the dismissal of officials responsible for these provocations.

"We will demand that the interior minister not just report in parliament, but that [President] Viktor Yanukovych, if he does not even know who did all this, dismiss all officials. However, I'm sure that the president was personally aware of this special operation and led it," Yatseniuk said.