Tensions high in Ukraine after at least 21 die in fiery clashes
From Victoria Butenko. Greg Botelho and Phil Black, CNN
February 19, 2014 -- Updated 0501 GMT (1301 HKT)
Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- Downtown Kiev was aglow in fire early Wednesday, as demonstrators undeterred by a bloody day on the streets staked their claim to the heart of the Ukrainian capital and, they hope, the heart of the country itself.
Such flames have been a constant for three months, acting as fiery barricades all around Kiev's Maidan, or Independence Square, for protesters. Yet the flames grew more ominous on Tuesday as at least 21 people died in fresh clashes between government forces and activists.
What began with protests over President Viktor Yanukovych's backpedaling from a trade pact with the European Union -- a move that the opposition maligned, accusing Yanukovych of trying to cozy up to Russia rather than the West -- has spawned into something much larger.
more
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/18/wo...aine-protests/