2 Dead in Ukraine Protests

2 Dead in Ukraine Protests

Riley Dyer

Senior Reporter

            The first fatalities have been confirmed in the increasingly heated clashes between the Ukraine government and anti-government protestors, raising concerns that the situation is spiraling into a dangerously violent mess. Medics on the scene said that a third man died from falling off of a building. However Natalia Vishnevska, spokeswoman for the city health department, said that the man is in critical condition at a local hospital.

            The deaths have fueled the fears that the daily protests are headed for a violent climax after the Ukrainian government decided to shun the European Union for closer ties to Russia. Prosecutors claim that the men were shot with live ammo, and have opened a criminal investigation to find the men responsible. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov claims that the police force was not armed with live ammunition, and also says that the opposition leaders should be charged with the deaths.

            The protestors swelled into the hundreds of thousands after a small and peaceful rally was violently ended by police. After the government refused to meet with the opposition leaders the protests turned violent, with protestors throwing fire bombs and stones at riot police. The deaths happened on the fourth day of the violent protests. The bodies were found before the police decided to destroy the barricades placed by protestors near government buildings in Kiev and chase away the protestors.

            The police herded the demonstrators down a hill towards the main protest site in Independence square, where the protestors have set up and extensive tent camp. Independence square has been the site of rallies and demonstrations since early November. The police made no immediate move on the camp.