It was a scene you could only expect to see in the movies, writes Chris Stephen in Kiev
Walking away from Kiev's Independence Square down to the banks of the wide Dnipr River late at night, I stopped in my tracks.
Ahead, standing shivering in the snow were more than 200 policemen, looking sinister in their dark uniforms.
Nervously I approached, wondering if this was a sign of the much-anticipated government backlash against the demonstrators who have taken control of Kiev.
Then from behind me came a group of teenage girls, arms linked, singing one of the catchy songs that have become anthems for the week-long democracy protests.
Like every second citizen in the Ukrainian capital, these girls sported orange flags, pennants and hats showing their support for the opposition.
Then they saw the police ahead and the singing stopped.
The police saw the students, and began shouting. At first I didn't understand. It looked bad. Then the words became clear.
"Don't be afraid!" shouted one policeman. "We are with you!" cried another. They waved their hands, beckoning the girls to come forwards. The girls, faces bright in the street lights, shrieked in delight.
Then they ran together, arms waving, banners streaming, through the snow towards the waiting policemen who put out their arms to welcome them.
In seconds the two groups met, hugged, kissed, laughed. All that was missing was mood music. If you put it in a movie, audiences would dismiss it as too corny to be true.
One of the young policemen, not much older than the girls, told me they were police cadets, from Kiev training college, and they had been allowed out, and provided with busses, to offer support for the demonstrators.
"I support the law, you must understand this," he told me. "Our job is to protect the law and that means protecting the people. If there is a fight, these girls need to know that the police will be on their side."
All well and good, but of course that is not the whole story. Ukraine's government controls a plethora of forces, including federal police, interior ministry troops - soldiers in all but name - along with various special forces with exotic names.
These units have been arriving all week in barracks surrounding the city, mission unknown. It is the loyalty of these units that may well decide who wins the battle for Kiev's streets.