According to a report from the Wall Street Journal,after two months of mostly peaceful demonstrations on the main square, the center of the capital has been turned into a fortress, with barricades from sacks of snow and a garrison of guards armed with clubs, fireworks and anything else they can lay their hands on.
But now there is a new front line, some 200 yards away from the square on a street leading to the government buildings, where a group of right-wing organizations launched an attack on police early this week.
Angered by the lack of government concessions and new legislation cracking down on dissent, many ordinary protesters on the square have followed them. Some wear polystyrene tubes as armor on their arms and legs. Others roll tires to add to fires that burn into black clouds in no man's land.
But now there is a new front line, some 200 yards away from the square on a street leading to the government buildings, where a group of right-wing organizations launched an attack on police early this week.
Angered by the lack of government concessions and new legislation cracking down on dissent, many ordinary protesters on the square have followed them. Some wear polystyrene tubes as armor on their arms and legs. Others roll tires to add to fires that burn into black clouds in no man's land.
The risks of taking part in protests rose dramatically this week, as at least two demonstrators died from gunshot wounds. Medics say hundreds more have been injured as police attacked with rubber bullets and baton charges.
Opposition lawmaker Andriy Parubiy showed what he said were stun grenades adapted by police to contain shrapnel. Other protesters show metal bullets they say were fired by police.
The government denies causing the deaths or using live rounds and says it is using the minimum force necessary.
The violence hasn't dampened numbers. After the deaths and a wave of attacks by riot police Wednesday, thousands flooded the square in the evening ahead of an expected assault.
Hundreds shoveled snow into sacks to bolster barricades to heights of 10 feet on roads leading to the square. Others poured gasoline into beer bottles or smashed cobblestones with a sledgehammer and carried them to the front line.
In the rest of Kiev, life continues much as normal.
Barely a few hundred yards from the square, business goes on normally. Shops sell clothes and cafes serve tea and sandwiches. The subway station under the square is still running, and a store in an underpass selling baked potatoes is still churning out food.
But sometimes, the violence spills out of the center.
