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Vitali Klitschko: I Know 'Only Way' to End Ukraine's Crisis

<p>The champion boxer turned opposition leader called on President Viktor Yanukovych to hold an early vote.</p>
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Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko said on Thursday that there was only one way to end the bloodshed engulfing Ukraine.

Klitschko agreed to a cease-fire with President Viktor Yanukovych late on Wednesday but the pact collapsed hours later when clashes erupted in Kiev.

In a statement posted online just after noon (5 a.m. ET), the former boxing star said: "President Yanukovych has to announce early presidential election. This is the only way to stop the violence."

Klitschko also alleged that "armed criminals" had been "unleashed to beat people."

Image: Vitali Klitschko, Ukrainian opposition leader and former world champion boxer
Vitali Klitschko at a barricade in Kiev in January.Etienne De Malglaive / Getty Images, file