Ukraine Protesters End Occupation of Kiev City Hall (PHOTOS)

Ukrainian anti-government protesters have ended their nearly three-month occupation of Kiev City Hall in exchange for the release of 234 jailed protesters.

Protesters handed control of City Hall over to international mediators from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, who will then hand it back to city authorities. The compromise was reached after the last of 234 jailed protesters were released under an amnesty.

Demonstrators had seized Kiev City Hall on 1 December 2013, about a week after mass street protests broke out in response to Viktor Yanukovych's decision to abandon a long-anticipated political and economic treaty with the European Union. The president, whose support base is in the Russian-speaking east and south of the country, turned to Russia instead for loans to keep Ukraine's economy afloat.