Chief of the Main Department of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine in Kyiv Valeriy Koriak has said that the police committed no violations while removing tents that were put up on Independence Square on Thursday night by activists in support of a protest by Vradiivka residents.

Koriak said at a press briefing on Friday that representatives of the Blahoustriy Municipal Company had asked the activists to remove their tents and stop their rally several times, but that the activists, however, had ignored their demands and even tried to use force against them.

As long as the activists continued to ignore demands of Shevchenkivsky District Police Station officers, who came on site to maintain public order, it was decided to call the Berkut special police force.

"The police committed no violations," the officer said.

He also stressed that no one was injured during the events on Thursday night.

Koriak added that the police had demonstrated professionalism and no one had complained about their actions.

As reported, on June 26, two police officers and a taxi driver pulled a 29-year-old woman into a car in the town of Vradiivka, Mykolaiv region, took her to a nearby forest, where they beat her up and raped her. The victim was hospitalized with fractures of the skull, cuts to the head and face, and multiple severe bruising.

She told investigators the names of the rapists, but the police showed reluctance to arrest one of them.

These events triggered protests against abuses by the police in Vradiivka and other cities of Ukraine.

On July 7, activists went to Kyiv in a procession. On July 18, they put up two tents on the Independence Square and demanded the resignation of Interior Minister of Ukraine Vitaliy Zakharchenko.