Kiev Rocked by Violence

Ukraine's capital is shaken by confrontations as the government seeks to steer the former Soviet nation away from Europe and deeper into Russia's shadow

Ross McDonnell

Protesters reinforce barricades near the Dynamo Kiev soccer stadium by lighting fires as an additional line of defense.

After bubbling for two months, mass demonstrations in Ukraine against President Viktor Yanukovych came to a boil on Jan. 22, when three protesters were killed in clashes with security forces. Behind the violence was a set of antiprotest laws rushed through parliament. Yanukovych had sought to clamp down on popular discontent over his decision to deepen the former Soviet state's ties with Russia. But the legislation had the opposite effect, triggering fiery confrontations between protesters and phalanxes of riot police that left parts of Kiev, the capital, looking like a war zone.

The latest skirmishes reveal long-standing tensions among Ukraine's 45...

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