At Least 3 Reported Killed in Kiev Clashes

The Ukrainian capital, Kiev, has seen increasingly violent scenes in recent days with demonstrators intensifying their anti-government campaign in response to draconian legislation coming into force Wednesday that has severely curbed the freedom to protest. Segodnya.ua news website cited staff with the Euromaidan protest movement as saying a 22-year-old activist died after plummeting from the 13-meter-high colonnade of a Kiev stadium. The victim, whose name was withheld, was pelting Berkut riot police with fireworks and Molotov cocktails, the report said. He fell down after Berkut officers climbed up the colonnade to chase off him and his fellow protesters, Segodnya.ua said. Two more protesters were shot dead by police snipers Wednesday at Ulitsa Grushevskogo, where the clashes have taken place, Euromaidan activists said. Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper identified one of those killed as Sergei Nigonyan, a Dnipropetrovsk resident who came to Kiev to support the protests. Police said Wednesday they were looking into the reports of the activists' deaths. Berkut squads attempted to disperse protesters early Wednesday, shooting and pelting them with stun grenades, but were beaten back, Euromaidan protest group reported on Twitter. As of early Wednesday, demonstrators were erecting a barricade of snow, debris and sandbags across Ulitsa Grushevskogo in a bid to halt police advances. Police said their latest attempt at dispersal was prompted by reports protesters have stocked up on unspecified incendiary devices for use against the police, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Ukrainian media reported Tuesday that authorities planned to deploy almost 10,000 troops to clear rioters from Ulitsa Grushevskogo and possibly also the more pacific proceedings at nearby Independence Square, the site of a months-long peaceful protest. Meanwhile, a pro-government lawmaker warned of possible renewed attacks by radical nationalists against police on Wednesday, which is a national holiday in Ukraine. Ukrainian media reported Tuesday that authorities planned to deploy almost 10,000 troops to clear rioters from Ulitsa Grushevskogo and possibly also the more pacific proceedings at nearby Independence Square, the site of a months-long peaceful protest. Ultranationalist groups began attacking police in Kiev on Sunday in protest at a spate of draconian laws severely curtailing the rights to protest that were hastily pushed through parliament by President Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions. Violence was heavy on both sides, with Molotov cocktails, stun grenades and rubber bullets used indiscriminately. Police reported more than 100 officers taking damage, while the opposition spoke of about 1,000 injured activists, one of whom reportedly had to have his hand amputated. The court sanctioned on Wednesday the arrest of the first 10 of some 50 riot suspects held by police. Protests have been raging in Ukraine since November, when Yanukovych made an 11th-hour decision to pull out of an association agreement with the EU, opting instead for closer ties with Russia.