CHRONICLES OF OUR GENERATION: Protest in Ukraine

Protest in Ukraine

Months of demonstrations against Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's decision to abandon an EU integration pact have snarled the country in a political crisis. Last week, tough anti-protest legislation was rushed through parliament, which political opponents say paves the way for a police state. In response, hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in central Kiev, swelling the ranks of those already camping in Independence Square, and demonstrations turned violent. Bloody clashes took place between police and protesters yesterday, leaving more than 200 people wounded. The standoff continued into this morning, with no immediate resolution in sight.

A pro-European protester throws a stone during clashes with Ukrainian riot police in Kiev, on January 19, 2014. Protesters attacked riot police with sticks in Kiev on Sunday and tried to overturn a bus blocking their path to parliament, as up to 100,000 Ukrainians massed in defiance of sweeping new laws aimed at stamping out anti-government demonstrations. (Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)

Pro-European integration protesters sing an anthem during a rally near government administration buildings in Kiev, on January 20, 2014.(Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko) #

Barricades and protesters' tents in Independence Square in Kiev, where the pro-EU demonstrators held a rally on January 17, 2014.(Reuters/Gleb Garanich) #

Protesters attack riot police in central Kiev, on January 19, 2014. A group of radical activists began attacking riot police with sticks, trying to push their way toward the Ukrainian parliament building, which has been cordoned off by rows of police vehicles and buses.(AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov) #

A pro-European integration protester stands on a barricade with a national flag during a rally in Kiev, on January 20, 2014.(Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko) #

A woman watches riot police officers protecting themselves from protesters during an opposition rally in the center Kiev, in a show of defiance against strict new curbs on protests, on January 19, 2014. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images) #

Opposition leader and former WBC heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko (center) speaks to protesters during a pro-European integration rally in Kiev, on January 19, 2014. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich) #

Vitaly Klitschko is attacked and sprayed with a fire extinguisher as he tries to stop the clash between police and protesters in Kiev, on January 19, 2014. (AP Photo /Efrem Lukatsky) #

Vitaly Klitschko, after being attacked and sprayed with a fire extinguisher as he tried to stop clashes between police and protesters in Kiev, on January 19, 2014. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) #

Pro-European integration protesters attack a police van during a rally near government administration buildings in Kiev, on January 19, 2014. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich) #

A protester throws a stone at Ukrainian riot police in Kiev, on January 19, 2014. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich) #

Protesters with both improvised shields and shields taken from riot police prepare to clash with police in Kiev, on January 19, 2014.(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) #

Ukrainian riot police take cover during clashes with pro-European integration protesters in Kiev, on January 19, 2014.(Reuters/Gleb Garanich) #

Protesters clash with Ukrainian riot police during a rally near government administration buildings in Kiev, on January 19, 2014.(Reuters/Gleb Garanich) #

A protester stands next to a bus in flames as protesters clash with riot police in Kiev, on January 19, 2014.(Anatolii Boiko/AFP/Getty Images) #

Riot police react after being hit by a petrol bomb in Kiev, on January 19, 2014. (Reuters/Stringer) #

A protester throws a Molotov cocktail towards a burning police car, during clashes with police in Kiev, on January 20, 2014.(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) #

Burned police vehicles, after a rally of pro-European integration protesters in Kiev, on January 20, 2014. (Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko) #

Ukrainian riot police take cover behind their shields in front of a burned bus during a continued protest near government administration buildings in Kiev, on January 20, 2014. (Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko) #

A protester sits in a burned police bus in Kiev, on January 20, 2014. (Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko) #

A bare chested man waves a Ukrainian flag during clashes between the opposition and police in Kiev, on January 20, 2014.(Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images) #

Protesters clash with police in Kiev, on January 20, 2014. Protesters erected barricades from charred vehicles and other materials in central Kiev as the sound of stun grenades was heard in the freezing air as police try to quell anti-government street protests.(AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov) #

Protesters clash with police in Kiev, on January 20, 2014. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov) #

A protester prepares to throw a Molotov cocktail during clashes with the police in Kiev, on January 20, 2014. EU foreign ministers deplored violent protests in Kiev, saying the government was at fault for passing a package of repressive laws in an effort to tame pro-EU demonstrations. (Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images) #

Protesters clad in improvised protective gear prepare for a battle with police in Kiev, on January 20, 2014. After a night of vicious streets battles, anti-government protesters and police clashed anew Monday in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. (AP Photo/Evgeny Feldman) #

A pro-European integration protester aims his air gun towards riot police during clashes in Kiev, on January 20, 2014.(Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko) #

Ukrainian Riot police officers shoot rubber bullets and throw a stun grenade at anti-government protesters, on January 20, 2014.(AP Photo/Sergei Grits) #

Protesters run away from tear gas in the center of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, on January 20, 2014.(Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images) #

A protester displays rubber bullets and pellets used by police during clashes in Kiev, on January 20, 2014.(Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images) #

A protester reacts after being injured by a rubber bullet during unrest in central Kiev, Ukraine, on Monday, January 20, 2014.(AP Photo/Sergei Grits) #

Pro-European integration protesters carry Molotov cocktails during clashes with police in Kiev, on January 20, 2014.(Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko) #

A stun grenade explodes amid protesters in Kiev, Ukraine, on January 20, 2014. After a night of vicious streets battles, anti-government protesters and police clashed anew Monday. Hundreds of protesters, many wearing balaclavas, hurled rocks and stun grenades and police responded with tear gas. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of people in Ukraine took to the streets to demonstrate against President Viktor Yanukovich's decision to abandon an EU integration pact, as he works to strengthen economic ties to Russia, rather than Europe. Protesters blockaded government buildings and occupied Independence Square in Kiev today, seeking to force Yanukovich from office. After harsh crackdowns last night, demonstrations continued this morning, with leaders calling for a nationwide strike.

Protesters try to break through police lines near the presidential administration building during a rally held by supporters of EU integration in Kiev, on December 1, 2013. Ukrainian opposition leaders called on Sunday for President Viktor Yanukovich and his government to resign at a rally of about 350,000 people, the biggest protest in the capital Kiev since the "Orange Revolution" of nine years ago. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)

People attend a rally held by supporters of EU integration in Kiev, on December 1, 2013. Ukraine's interior minister warned protesters starting a pro-Europe rally in the capital Kiev on Sunday that police would respond if there were mass disturbances.(Reuters/Stoyan Nenov) #

Opposition protesters face riot police on November 29, 2013 during a demonstration in Kiev. Ukrainian authorities deployed hundreds of riot police to central Kiev where thousands of protesters gathered after President Viktor Yanukovych failed to salvage a key deal with the European Union. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images) #

Protesters clash with police on Independence Square in Kiev early on November 30, 2013. Dozens of protesters were wounded in Ukraine's capital when police brutally dispersed demonstrators calling for President Viktor Yanukovych's ouster after he failed to salvage an EU deal.(STR/AFP/Getty Images) #

Wounded Reuters photographer Gleb Garanich, who was injured by riot police, takes pictures as riot police block protesters during a scuffle at a demonstration in support of EU integration at Independence Square in Kiev, on November 30, 2013. (Reuters/Stringer) #

A protester waves a Ukranian flag from a moving car in Kiev, on November 30, 2013. Ukraine's political opposition said it would call a general strike to force the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovich's government after police used batons and stun grenades to break up pro-Europe protests. (Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko) #

Supporters of EU integration hold a rally in the Maidan Nezalezhnosti or Independence Square in central Kiev, on December 1, 2013.(Reuters/Stoyan Nenov) #

Lawmaker and chairman of the Ukrainian opposition party Udar (Punch), WBC heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, (left, on the platform), waves a flag during a rally in downtown Kiev, on December 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) #

People wear helmets and masks as they attend a rally held by supporters of EU integration in Kiev, on December 1, 2013.(Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko) #

Demonstrators gather during a rally in downtown Kiev, on December 1, 2013. The mass rally in central Kiev defied a government ban on protests on Independence Square, in the biggest show of anger over President Viktor Yanukovych's refusal to sign a political and economic agreement with the European Union. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) #

Interior Ministry officers and riot police block the way of protesters near the presidential administration building during a rally held by supporters of EU integration in Kiev, on December 1, 2013. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich) #

Protesters dig up stones during clashes with police outside the presidential administration building in downtown Kiev, on December 1, 2013. A protest by about 300,000 Ukrainians angered by their government's decision to freeze integration with the West turned violent, when a group of demonstrators besieged the president's office and police drove them back with truncheons, tear gas and flash grenades. Dozens of people were injured. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) #

Protesters clash with police at Presidential office in Kiev, on December 1, 2013. As many as 100,000 demonstrators chased away police to rally in the center of Ukraine's capital on Sunday, defying a government ban on protests on Independence Square.(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) #

Stones and flares thrown by protesters land on the police line guarding the presidential administration building in Kiev, on December 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) #

Men kneel down before a line of riot police near the presidential administration building during a rally held by supporters of EU integration in Kiev, on December 1, 2013. Ukrainian opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko, addressing hundreds of thousands of protesters in central Kiev, called on President Viktor Yanukovich and his government to resign, saying they had "stolen" Ukraine's dream of European integration.(Reuters/Gleb Garanich) #

A protester with a chain clashes with police during the storming of the Viktor Yanukovych Presidential office in Kiev, on December 1, 2013. The crowd chanted "Revolution!" and "Down with the Gang" as it took control of Kiev's iconic Independence Square and steered a bulldozer within striking distance of police barricades protecting the nearby presidential adminstration office.(Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images) #

Riot police are covered by smoke during clashes outside the president's office in Kiev, on December 1, 2013.(Vasily Maximov/AFP/Getty Images) #

Protesters use an excavator during clash with police at the presidential office in Kiev, on December 1, 2013.(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) #

A stun grenade explodes among protesters as they clash with police during the storming of the Viktor Yanukovych Presidential office in Kiev, on December 1, 2013. AFP reporters saw security forces outside the presidential building fire stun grenades and smoke bombs at a few dozen masked demonstrators who were pelting police with huge stones and what Ukrainian media said were molotov cocktails.(Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images) #

A photographer stands in front of police members during clashes with pro-European Ukrainian demonstrators near the presidential administration office in Kiev, as outraged Ukrainians swarmed the city in a call for early elections meant to punish authorities for rejecting a historic EU pact, on December 1, 2013. Ukrainian media said President Yanukovych spent most of the day huddling with his most senior advisers at a secluded suburban residence. (Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images) #

People climb up onto a gate near the presidential administration building during a rally held by supporters of EU integration in Kiev, on December 1, 2013. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich) #

Protesters clash with police guarding the presidential administration building in downtown Kiev, on December 1, 2013. Police allowed the rally to proceed peacefully, but when a few thousand protesters tried to storm the nearby presidential administration building with a front loader, riot police used tear gas, truncheons and flash grenades to drive them back. Dozens of people with what appeared to be head injuries were taken away by ambulance.(AP Photo/Sergei Grits) #

Interior Ministry members and riot policemen stand guard during a rally held by supporters of EU integration in Kiev, on December 1, 2013.(Reuters/Vasily Fedosenko) #

A flare is ignited as protesters clash with police outside the presidential administration building in downtown Kiev, on December 1, 2013.(AP Photo/Sergei Grits) #

Protesters clash with police outside the presidential office in Kiev, on December 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) #

Kiev's landmark, the 50-meter-high (164-foot-high) Independence Column, seen through a hole in a barricade on December 2, 2013. Thousands of Ukrainian protesters besieged government buildings in Kiev and called for the ouster of the prime minister and his Cabinet, as anger at the president's decision to ditch a deal for closer ties with the European Union gripped other parts of the country and threatened his rule. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) #

Protesters sleep on the floor as others look through a window for possible police presence inside Kiev's city hall, on December 1, 2013. Ukrainian nationalist protesters broke into Kiev's city hall and were occupying at least part of the building during mass protests that drew several hundred thousands out on the streets to protest the government's decision to forgo an EU deal. (Reuters/Stoyan Nenov) #

Protesters rest in the Kiev City Council building which they occupied in downtown Kiev, on December 2, 2013.(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) #

Thousands of demonstrators march in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on December 2, 2013. Ukrainian protesters blockaded administrative buildings and camped on Kiev's central square in a bid to oust the government after police brutality and a row over an EU pact plunged the nation into its worst political crisis in a decade. Demonstrators were newly incensed by a crackdown on an opposition rally calling for the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych and his government. (Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP/Getty Images)