[kristinn]

Via the BBC, In pictures: Protests at Ukraine presidential home.

[Blackyce]

The protesters, armed with sticks and makeshift armour, celebrated on the steps of the president's official residence. The once heavily guarded and walled building, the Mezhyhirya, sits about 15km (10 miles) north of the capital, Kiev.

This protester waved an EU flag on the steps of the official residence. The protests began in November as a show of support for the EU, after Mr Yanukovych walked away from a planned trade deal with the EU in favour of closer ties with Russia.

Mr Yanukovych was not in the residence at the time. He has left Kiev, and is reportedly in Kharkiv, to the east. That city is close to the Russian border, and traditionally leans politically towards Moscow.

No-one appeared to have gone inside the building, but people managed to take photos of the apparently deserted residence through the windows.

These opposition protesters took the opportunity to relax on garden furniture outside the residential buildings.

There was no sign of attempts by security to stop as people celebrated in the grounds.

A BBC correspondent photographed streams of people walking towards the building, unhindered by security or police.

President Yanukovych has lost his hold on power in Ukraine. Signs in the grounds of his home appeared to openly mock him,

Meanwhile in parliament, opposition MPs celebrated after a vote was passed to remove Mr Yanukovych from power and hold elections on 25 May. He has denounced recent events as a coup, comparing the actions of the opposition to the rise of the Nazis in Germany.