MOSCOW, January 22 (RAPSI) – Ukrainian opposition groups have found several camps of the instigators of the protest rallies near Kiev, the UNIAN agency reported on Wednesday.

On Tuesday night members of the Automaidan group saw a tent with several instigators near a road to Kiev, the agency said in a statement. Several athletic looking young men who were standing near the tent threatened the Automaidan group with sticks. Three military trucks were parked nearby.

The Automaidan activists pulled down the tent and forced the young men to leave. Approximately 20 instigators ran towards the railway line, according to UNIAN.

Local residents told the group activists that these people had terrorized them, broke fences, acted aggressively, and disregarded pleas to not destroy their property. The Automaidan activists brought two instigators to the House of Trade Unions in Kiev “for interrogation.”

Later the opposition groups found approximately 100 instigators who were sitting near barrels with bonfires in a forest near Kiev. According to UNIAN, both sides acted peacefully. The Automaidan activists only “observed” the instigators.

Protests initially began after President Viktor Yanukovych announced the decision to postpone the signing of the EU Association Agreement on November 21. Protest rallies broke out anew in central Kiev on January 19 after a series of laws to clamp down on protests had been adopted by Parliament earlier. The rally turned violent when radicals attacked the police.

Dozens have been arrested in Ukraine since Sunday as violent protests have surged. So far, at least ten are expected to be charged.