World Armed Forces Pictures & Videos

Monuments to Kiev's founders burn as anti-government protesters clash with riot police in Kiev's Independence Square, the epicenter of the country's current unrest, Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2014. Thousands of police armed with stun grenades and water cannons attacked the large opposition camp in Ukraine's capital on Tuesday that has been the center of nearly three months of anti-government protests after at least nine people were killed in street clashes.

(Photos/Efrem Lukatsky, Vasily Fedosenko & others)

Story by Richard Balmforth and Natalia Zinets

KIEV - Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich accused pro-European opposition leaders on Wednesday of trying to seize power by force after at least 26 people died in the worst violence since the former Soviet republic gained independence.

European Union leaders condemned what they called "the unjustified use of excessive force by the Ukrainian authorities" and said they were urgently preparing targeted sanctions against those responsible for the crackdown.
Protesters have been occupying central Kiev for almost three months since Yanukovich spurned a far-reaching trade deal with the EU and accepted a $15-billion Russian bailout.

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An anti-government protester shooting fireworks from a homemade gun during clashes with riot police in Kiev's Independence Square, the epicenter of the country's current unrest, Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014.

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Anti-government protesters clash with riot police in Kiev's Independence Square, the epicenter of the country's current unrest, Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 17/18/19, 2014

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Interior Ministry members injured during clashes with anti-government protesters sit in Kiev, February 18, 2014.

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Retired army general Angel Vivas, accused by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of inciting violence, is entrenched at his house after the National Bolivarian Guard tried to arrest him, in Miranda state, Venezuela, on Feb. 23, 2014. (Xinhua/Str)

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Mexican Navy soldiers escort Joaquin Guzman Loera (front), alias "El Chapo Guzman", leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, during his show up in front of the press, at the Mexican Navy hangar in Mexico City, capital of Mexico, on Feb. 22, 2014. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Saturday confirmed the capture of the world's most wanted drug lord, Joaquin Guzman Loera, known as El Chapo, in the Pacific resort of Mazatlan. (Xinhua/Pedro Mera)

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Security personnel sitting on a pickup patrol a street after the government deploys strict security measures in Sanaa, Yemen, on Feb. 23, 2014. Yemeni authorities tightened security measures after intelligence showed possible attacks by al-Qaida militants after 29 dangerous al-Qaida members escaped from the central prison in Sanaa early this month. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed)

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A Yemeni soldier stands guard on a street after the government deploys strict security measures in Sanaa, Yemen, on Feb. 23, 2014.

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Recruits of Indian police march during a passing in review parade at a training center in Sheeri Baramullah, some 65 kilometers north of Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, Feb. 24, 2014. A total of 789 recruits were formally inducted into the Indian police after completing nine months of rigorous training in physical fitness, weapon handling, commando operations and counter insurgency, a police spokesman said. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)

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bd popeye said:

This morning I was going to post more photos of the violence. But..I did not. The comforter made me stop.

What I will post is a link to the photos and news items.

The violence perpetrated by both sides of this situation is horrible.

WARNING!! Extreme photos & videos!! The links in the article are NSFW!!!!!!! You have been warned!!!

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

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A Ukrainian man stands in protest in front of gunmen in unmarked uniforms as they stand guard in Balaklava, on the outskirts of Sevastopol, Ukraine, Saturday, March 1, 2014. An emblem on one of the vehicles and their number plates identify them as belonging to the Russian military. Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of sending new troops into Crimea, a strategic Russia-speaking region that hosts a major Russian navy base. The Kremlin hasn’t responded to the accusations, but Russian lawmakers urged Putin to act to protect Russians in Crimea. (AP Photo/Andrew Lubimov)

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Ukrainian soldiers guard a gate of an infantry base in Privolnoye, Ukraine, Sunday, March 2, 2014. Hundreds of unidentified gunmen arrived outside Ukraine's infantry base in Privolnoye in its Crimea region. The convoy includes at least 13 troop vehicles each containing 30 soldiers and four armored vehicles with mounted machine guns. The vehicles — which have Russian license plates — have surrounded the base and are blocking Ukrainian soldiers from entering or leaving it. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

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Unidentified armed men prepare their camp in front of Ukraine's infantry base in Privolnoye, Ukraine, Sunday, March 2, 2014. Hundreds of unidentified gunmen arrived outside Ukraine's infantry base in Privolnoye in its Crimea region. The convoy includes at least 13 troop vehicles each containing 30 soldiers and four armored vehicles with mounted machine guns. The vehicles — which have Russian license plates — have surrounded the base and are blocking Ukrainian soldiers from entering or leaving it. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

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Unidentified gunmen guard Ukraine's infantry base in Privolnoye, Ukraine, Sunday, March 2, 2014. Hundreds of unidentified gunmen arrived outside Ukraine's infantry base in Privolnoye in its Crimea region. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

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Military personnel stand guard in the Crimean port city of Feodosiya March 2, 2014. Ukraine mobilised on Sunday for war and called up its reserves, after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to invade in the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War. (photo by/Thomas Peter)

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Ukrainian sailors prepare the Ukrainian anti-submarine ship "Ternopil" in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine, Sunday, March 2, 2014. A convoy of hundreds of Russian troops headed toward the regional capital of Ukraine's Crimea region on Sunday, a day after Russia's forces took over the strategic Black Sea peninsula without firing a shot. The new government in Kiev has been powerless to react. Ukraine's parliament was meeting Sunday in a closed session. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

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A Russian convoy moves from Sevastopol to Sinferopol in the Crimea, Ukraine, Sunday, March 2, 2014

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A serviceman stands next to an armoured personnel carrier (APC) in the Crimean port city of Feodosiya March 2, 2014. Ukraine mobilised on Sunday for war and called up its reserves, after Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to invade in the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War. (photo by/David Mdzinarishvili)

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Police detain an activist protesting against recent developments in Russian-Ukrainian relations during an unsanctioned rally on the Manezh Square in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, March 2, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin has defied calls from the West to pull back his troops, insisting that Russia has a right to protect its interests and the Russian-speaking population in Crimea and elsewhere in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

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