A mystery raid on a printers where ballots for Ukraine's presidential runoff were being prepared triggered on Monday a political row and prompted an emergency meeting of the Security Council.
A group of law enforcers raided in the early hours of Monday the Ukraina printing house, smashing down the doors and injuring several guards.
The Party of Regions, whose leader Viktor Yanukovych won the first round of the presidential elections, accused his rival Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko of an attempt to seize the building and print an additional 1.5 million ballots to falsify the results of the February 7 runoff.
However, Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, known to be the prime minister's ally, denied the claims, saying that the alleged takeover was a police response after a group from the Party of Regions occupied the printing house over the weekend and refused on Monday to let a newly appointed director into the building.
"It was established that a group of some 20 people had blocked the entrance to the printing house and refused to let the director come in and start his duties," Lutsenko said, adding that 22 people were detained after police arrived at the scene to deal with the situation.
In a police video tape from the morning raid, which was showed to journalists, Lutsenko pointed out how the group blocking the entrance used water cannons and smoke flares against police forces.
Lutsenko added that the standoff at the printing house was an attempt at a commercial takeover in the interests of unnamed MPs from Yanukovych's party.
While the presidential rivals continue to trade accusations, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office has opened a criminal case into the situation.
KIEV, January 25 (RIA Novosti)
