<sod >â Ukrainian opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, center, talks to lawmakers in the parliament session hall, in Kiev (AP) The mass protests began in November after the government spurned a long-awaited trade and political deal with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia, but turned violent after parliament rushed through the anti-protest laws, which restricted basic freedoms of speech, movement and assembly in a bit to curb the demonstrations.< eod>< sod > â Ukrainian opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, center, talks to lawmakers in the parliament session hall, in Kiev (AP) The EU's top diplomat, Catherine Ashton, travelled to Kiev after the Russia-EU summit for talks, while Å tefan FÃ¼le, the bloc's enlargement commissioner, has made two trips to Ukraine in the past week.< eod>