These are bandits' - More from Yanukovych: "Everything happening today can primarily be described as vandalism, banditry and a coup d'etat. That is my assessment."
"This is not an opposition," Yanukovych added. "These are bandits."
14:43 GMT - Army says will play no role - More from that statement just issued by the Ukrainian army.
"The army will in no way become involved in the political conflict," it said.
Police said earlier that they were "at the service of the people" and "completely shares its aspirations for rapid changes."
14:34 GMT - Army rules itself out - In a statement, the Ukrainian army has just ruled out any involvement in the crisis.
More on that as we get it in the coming moments.
14:32 GMT - Yanukovych defiant - Yanukovych says he will not sign any of the new laws passed by parliament, including a measure to release Yulia Tymoshenko.
"The decisions they are taking today are illegitimate. They must hear this from me -- I do not intend to sign anything," Yanukovych told local TV in Kharkiv.
14:26 GMT - Banqueting hall like a galleon - More from AFP's Max Delany on what opposition supporters have been finding inside the presidential compound.
"Waterside promenade stretching for kilometres, rare pheasant collection, banquet hall built to look like a galleon, helicopter pad, museum of Soviet military vehicles-- scale breath-taking," he says.
Natalia Rudenko, who is retired from the military, tells him: "I am in shock. In a country with so much poverty, how can one person have so much?"
14:19 GMT - 'No coup' - Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, a key figure in brokering Friday's deal, has just posted this on Twitter.
"No coup in Kiev. Gov. buildings got abandoned. Speaker of Rada elected legally. Pres. VYanukovych has 24h to sign 04 Const. into law," he writes @sikorsiradek.
14:18 GMT - 'I do not intend to resign' - Yanukovych has gone on TV to deny he plans to resign.
"I am not leaving the country for anywhere. I do not intend to resign. I am the legitimately elected president," Yanukovych told a local television station in Kharkiv, where he headed after leaving Kiev on Friday.
14:03 GMT - Gold-encrusted rooms - This from AFP correspondent Max Delany, who has been with those trying to get into the compound.
"Cars backed up for kilometres as thousands streamed to get a glimpse of Yanukovych's luxurious lifestyle.
"Opposition activists protected against looting as people strolled around.
"Not allowed in houses but peered through windows at marble and gold-encrusted living rooms."
13:59 GMT - Presidential zoo - Some extraordinary pictures coming out on Twitter from inside Yanukovych's compound, where opposition protesters are now wandering around freely.
Matt Frei (@mattfrei), a journalist with Britain's Channel Four News, is among those tweeting photos of what seems to be the president's zoo.
This features everything from pigs to sheep, peacocks to antelope.
13:52 GMT - 'Resign in the name of Maidan' - More on that news that Yanukovych could be set to quit.
Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) opposition party lawmaker Mykola Katerynchuk has said Yanukovych will resign in a conversation with protest leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
"Yatsenyuk demanded in the name of Maidan that Yanukovych resign," the lawmaker said.
"Yanukovych promised to put it in writing and we are waiting for him to do so."
Yanukovych left Kiev late on Friday for the industrial eastern city of Kharkiv but a spokeswoman has denied he intends to quit.
He has already agreed to hold early presidential elections in December and appoint a unity government.
13:31 GMT - Tymoshenko release - Another major development in Ukraine today -- parliament voted to release jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.
She is the ex-prime minister who spearheaded the nation's pro-democracy 2004 Orange Revolution.
Tymoshenko, an arch-foe of Yanukovych, was jailed for seven years on disputed abuse of power charges in 2011.
Her picture has been displayed above Independence Square in Kiev, the heart of the opposition's protests against Yanukovych.
13:26 GMT - Yanukovych to quit? - More on the news that President Viktor Yanukovych has apparently promised to submit his resignation.
Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) opposition party lawmaker Mykola Katerynchuk has told reporters that Yanukovych said he would quit in a conversation with protest leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
13:18 GMT - Yanukovych to quit? - Some breaking news: a Ukraine lawmaker has said President Yanukovych has promised to resign.
More on that in the next few minutes as we get it.
13:12 GMT - Live Report opens - Welcome to AFP's Live Report on the crisis in Ukraine.
President Viktor Yanukovych's regime seems on the brink of collapse after he left Kiev and opposition supporters took control of government buildings including his own compound.
Police have issued a statement saying they are "at the service of the people" and support "rapid change".
All this comes the day after Yanukovych and the opposition signed a Western-brokered peace deal to end a crisis which has left nearly 100 people dead this week alone.
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