Kiev's Battlefield: Protests Ignite Fiery Clashes in Ukraine

  • An anti-government protester shouts slogans at Kiev's Maidan square on Feb. 4, 2014.
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  • Members of the radical group Pravy Sektor practice street fighting in central Kiev, Feb. 3, 2014.
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  • An opposition supporter engraves a baton with the words "Maidan", referring to Kiev's Independence Square, the epicenter of the country's current unrest, Jan. 31, 2014.
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  • Anti-government protesters gather in Independence Square on Jan. 29, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • Riot police stand guard opposite anti-government protesters in a park area near a road block in Kiev on Jan. 28, 2014.
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  • A anti-government protesters rest near a fire next to a road block in Kiev on Jan. 28, 2014.
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  • Anti-government protesters gather around a fire to get warm at a road block in Kiev, Jan. 26, 2014.
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  • Men carry a casket containing the body of Mikhail Zhiznevsky, 25, an anti-government protester who was killed in clashes with police, outside Mikhailovsky Cathedral after a memorial service there in his honor on Jan. 26, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • Women weep as a casket containing the body of Mikhail Zhiznevsky, 25, an anti-government protester who was killed in clashes with police, is carried past on Jan. 26, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • The body of Mikhail Zhiznevsky, 25, an anti-government protester who was killed in clashes with police, rests in the back of a hearse following a memorial service in his honor on Jan. 26, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • Ukrainian protesters hold their flags outside of Mikhaylovsky Cathedral as they pay their final respects to Belarussian protester Mikhail Zhiznevsky during a funeral service in Kiev on Jan. 26, 2014.
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  • Women light candles inside Mikhailovsky Cathedral before a memorial service for Mikhail Zhiznevsky, 25, an anti-government protester who was killed in clashes with police on January 26, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • A man uses a pole to remove the remains of broken windows at Ukrainian House, which was taken over by anti-government protesters on Jan. 26, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • Protesters behind barricades in Kiev, Jan. 25, 2014.
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  • A Ukrainian protester burns tires during clashes with police in Kiev on Jan. 25, 2014
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  • Street fights during very low temperature in Kiev, Jan. 25, 2014.
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  • An anti-government protester uses a large sling shot during clashes with police on Hrushevskoho Street near Dynamo stadium on Jan. 25, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • An Orthodox Christian priest prays in front of riot police near protesters' barricades in the frosty morning in central Kiev, Jan. 25, 2014.
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  • An anti-government protester walks among burned buses during clashes with police on Hrushevskoho Street near Dynamo stadium on Jan. 25, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • Ukrainian anti-government protesters walk past burning tyres during clashes with riot police in central Kiev early on Jan. 25, 2014.
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  • Clashes in Kiev on Jan. 24, 2014.
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  • Clashes in Kiev on Jan. 24, 2014.
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  • Police block the road near the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers building on Jan. 24, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • Anti-government protestors clear a channel through barricades near Dynamo Stadium on Jan. 24, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • Anti-government protesters guard a barricade on a street near Dynamo stadium on Jan. 24, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • Ukrainians gather at a barricade during continuous anti-government protests in Kiev, Jan. 24, 2014.
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  • Incendiary projectiles are ready to be used by anti-government protesters near Dynamo Stadium on Jan. 24, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • Orthodox priests pray as they stand between pro-European Union activists and police lines in central Kiev, Jan. 24, 2014.
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  • Protesters use a large slingshot to hurl a Molotov cocktail at police in central Kiev, Jan. 23, 2014.
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  • Pro-European integration protesters take cover from water sprayed from a fire engine at the site of clashes with riot police in Kiev, Jan. 23, 2014.
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  • Pro-European integration protesters take cover from water sprayed from a fire engine at the site of clashes with riot police in Kiev, Jan. 23, 2014.
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  • Burning tires in Kiev, Jan. 23, 2014.
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  • Protestors gather around a fire during a stand off with police on Jan. 23, 2014 in Kiev.
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  • Riot police in Kiev, Jan. 22, 2014.
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  • A protester throws a Molotov cocktail during clashes with police in central Kiev, Jan. 22, 2014.
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  • Tires burn in the street, set alight by protesters in clashes with police in central Kiev, Jan. 22, 2014.
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  • Tires burn in the street, set alight by protesters in clashes with police in central Kiev, Jan. 22, 2014.
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  • Pro-European protesters with a Molotov cocktail in Kiev, Jan. 22, 2014.
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  • Riot police officers gather as they clash with protestors in the center of Kiev on Jan. 22, 2014.
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  • A protester points a handgun during a clash with police in central Kiev, Jan. 22, 2014.
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  • Protesters clash with police in central Kiev, Jan. 22, 2014.
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  • An opposition supporter wears a gas mask during clashes between riot police and anti-government demonstrators in central Kiev, Jan, 22, 2014.
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  • A police officer aims his shotgun during clashes with protesters in central Kiev, Jan. 22, 2014.
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  • Protesters duck behind a burned vehicle as they clash with police in central Kiev, Jan. 22, 2014.
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  • Riot police officers hold a man during clashes with pro-European protesters in Kiev, Jan. 22, 2014.
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  • A demonstrator holds an incendiary device as protesters clash with police in the center of Kiev on Jan. 22, 2014.
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By TIME Photo

Demonstrations that have gripped the capital since November over the government’s refusal to make a trade deal with the European Union are turning increasingly violent as two protesters were killed during a bloody melee Wednesday.

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