latter will stay out". Witnesses claimed 8 buses of "Leopard" Interior Troops had left deployment from Vyshhorod to Kyiv. In a separate incident, local media reported that a company of 220 Berkut troops based in Kirovohrad refused to accept orders to deploy to Kyiv, renouncing the use of force against peaceful protesters. The Interior Ministry denied the reports. Overnight, activists formed self-defense groups to guard Kyiv City Hall. Police attempted to raid the building by mid-morning, which it swarmed with busloads of riot troops; but were held back by fire hoses, firecrackers, and smoke bombs. The steps to the building were also slicked with ice and cooking oil. By the afternoon, demonstrators on Khreshchatyk, at City Hall, and the Maidan had held off, and then outnumbered police, who then left the area. Clashes during the raid and a standoff at City Hall sent 30 people to seek medical aid and fifteen to hospital, including nine police, officials stated. People hospitalized with frostbitten feet, head injuries, broken ribs, arms and legs, as well as back injuries. The Kyiv Post reported an instance of a Berkut officer blatantly clubbing a man in a Batkivshchyna party jacket as they advanced. Among the injured was Svoboda MP Andriy Illenko, who was seen in photos with his head bloodied and bandaged. Prime Minister Azarov denied that force has been used against demonstrators, calling the event "clearing the roads". 11 demonstrators were arrested during the clashes. Protest leader Vitali Klitschko referred to the police actions as "senseless and brutal actions by the authorities" that only would help the number of protestors to go up. "This was the most stupid thing the authorities could have done," said Klitschko. "To clear out the square when Catherine Ashton is in town. People here are determined not to live in a police state." The incident also drew immediate criticism from European and American politicians, including Catherine Ashton and John Kerry. Kyiv Passenger Railway Station and Terminal D of Boryspil International Airport were closed for hours and reopened after bomb threats made against them turned out to be hoaxes. Also on 11 December Ukrainian Prime Minister Azarov stated that there will be no discussion about the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia at a next round of negotiations with Russia: "There will be no discussion of the Customs Union and the government is not drafting any documents. I want to