Ukraine released 67 people Sunday who were detained for participating in violent clashes after pro-Russian protesters stormed the police headquarters in Odessa, demanding they be let go.
"Based on the decision taken by Odessa's regional prosecutor's office and due to the demands of the protesters, 67 people previously detained for participating in mass disturbances on May 2nd in Odessa were released Sunday," said a statement on the Ukrainian Interior Ministry's website.
The local prosecutor's office immediately denied it was involved in the decision.
The choice to release the detainees, it said in a Sunday statement, was made by police after officers failed to fulfill their duties. The prosecutor's office said it has opened a criminal investigation into their actions.
Earlier, hundreds of pro-Russian activists shouting, "Odessa is a Russian city, one for all and all for one," attacked the police headquarters, forcing open its gate and breaking windows as they called for the release of their detained comrades. In a tense scene filled with arguments -- but with no shots fired -- the separatists took down the Ukrainian flag and persuaded the officers to release the detainees, according to a CNN team on the ground.
The crowd cheered as the detainees left the police compound, and many were embraced by friends and relatives.
Elsewhere in Odessa, hundreds of pro-Ukrainian supporters marched to a trade union building where a fire had previously broken out. They held a memorial there.
The protesters demanded an explanation for why the pro-Russian detainees were released. A pro-Ukrainian demonstrator replaced a Russian flag on the union building with a Ukrainian one. There were no reports of violence.
Prime Minister visits Odessa after bloodshed
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk had visited the Black Sea port city, two days after a street battle between Russian supporters and opponents ended in a deadly blaze that killed more than 40 people.
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Ukraine releases protesters in Odessa