Thousands of protesters are battling with police in Kiev today in the worst anti-government violence in weeks.
I can't stop returning to this image from #Kiev earlier today. What words were exchanged? Photo by Vlad Sodel/Reuters pic.twitter.com/EcKJemw7ef
— Vaughn Wallace (@vaughnwallace) February 18, 2014
Update: I Am Ukrainian
Via Instapundit:
At least 13 people were killed in the violence.
The New York Times reported:
Mayhem gripped the center of the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday evening as riot police officers moved on protesters massed behind barriers raised throughout Independence Square, the focal point of more than two months of protests against President Viktor F. Yanukovych.
As the attack began just before 8 p.m. local time, the police tried to drive two armored personnel carriers through stone-reinforced barriers outside the Khreschatyk Hotel in the square. But they became bogged down and, set upon by protesters wielding rocks and fireworks, burst into flames, apparently trapping the security officers inside and prompting desperate rescue efforts from their colleagues.
In a wild day of parries and thrusts by the protesters and the police, the authorities in Kiev reported 13 people killed, including two police officers, while protesters accused the police of using live ammunition. It was the bloodiest day of violence since President Yanukovych spurned a trade deal with Europe in November and set of protests that began peacefully but have since involved occasional outbursts of deadly violence.
Horrifying photo of Kiev, Ukraine earlier today. Via @ukrpravda_news pic.twitter.com/cHfhBytJCe
— PzFeed Top News (@PzFeed) February 18, 2014