The anti-government protests in Ukraine spread to two eastern cities and to the Black Sea port city of Odessa, areas of the country that were believed to be supportive of President Viktor Yanukovich.  It comes after opposition leaders spurned Yanukovich’s offer to join his government.

5,000 demonstrators rallied in Zaporizhzhya; about 1,500 scuffled with police in Dnipropetrovsk; and 2,000 marched and rallied in Odessa.  Large protests in Yanukovich’s strongholds significantly raise the possibility of political chaos in Europe’s second largest country.

Back in the capital Kiev, antigovernment forces kept the cops at bay and occupied the Justice Ministry headquarters.  They already occupied the Agricultural Ministry, Kiev’s City Hall, and several other buildings around Independence Square.

The fresh unrest comes after opposition leader Arseny Yatsenyuk rejected President Viktor Yanukovich's offer to appoint him prime minister.

Earlier, protesters called for revenge as the casket of a young protester was carried from his funeral, through Independence Square.  25-year old Mikhail Zhiznevsky was one of three people shit to death by police last week.  International human rights groups have expressed outrage over the disappearances of other protest leaders, and called for their safe return.