Violence escalated after 16 January 2014 when Yanukovych signed the Bondarenko-Oliynyk laws, also known as Anti-Protest Laws. Demonstrators occupied provincial administration buildings in at least 10 regions, sending the police fleeing through rear exits in some instances. Verkhovna Rada lawmakers repealed nine of the 12 restrictive laws that had been passed on 16 January by a show of hands, without debate. Outrage ensued at the limits the laws imposed on free speech and assembly in the country. In a striking concession aimed at defusing Ukraine's civil uprising and preserving his own grip on power, President Yanukovych offered to install opposition leaders in top posts in a reshaped government, but they swiftly rebuffed the offer to the delight of thousands of protesters on the streets craving a fuller victory in the days ahead.