Riot Police Throw Petrol Bombs during Violent Protests in Ukraine

Reuters photographer Gleb Garanich captured riot policemen preparing and throwing a Molotov cocktail during clashes with pro-European protesters in Kiev. The Ukrainian capital witnessed a fourth day of violent street battles between protesters hurling fire bombs and stones and police firing back with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets. Dark smoke from burning tyres billowed in the air and an armoured vehicle was seen near police lines. Almost 200 officers have been injured over the four days.

Two people whose dead bodies were found near the site of clashes with police were shot with live ammunition, prosecutors said. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the police did not have live ammunition and charged that opposition leaders should be held responsible for the deaths.

A third man was reported to have died after he fell from a high point near a sports arena at the site of clashes, but Natalia Vishnevska, spokeswoman for the city health department, said the man survived the fall and was being treated in the hospital.

The protesters' deaths fuelled fears that protests aimed at bringing down the government over its decision to shun the European Union for closer ties to Moscow and over human rights violations could escalate and turn even more violent.