Brief Truce in Kiev Shatters

Ukraine’s descent into a spiral of violence accelerated on Thursday as protesters and riot police officers used firearms in a clash apparently intended to reclaim areas of Independence Square, the symbolic central plaza in the capital that had been retaken by police two days before.

A shaky truce crumbled in Kiev Thursday morning when gunfire erupted at the city's Maidan or Independence Square, leaving at least 20 protesters dead.