Unrest in Ukraine continues

Military service member, believed to be Russian, stood guard while Ukrainian servicemen stood behind the gate outside of a Ukrainian military unit on March 3.

An anti-Yanukovych protester saluted as the Ukrainian national anthem was played at Kiev’s Independence Square on March 3.

A Ukrainian soldier at the Belbek military base talked to his mother through the base’s fence in Lubimovka, Ukraine. Tensions at the base were high as a deadline reportedly given by Russian troops for the Ukrainians to surrender passed and locals feared the Russians might attack.

A Ukrainian soldier at the Belbek military base talked with family members, including his daughter, through the gates of the entrance. Between 100 and 200 Ukrainian soldiers are stationed at the base.

Oleg, a Ukrainian soldier at the Belbek military base, kissed his girlfriend Svetlana through the gates of the base entrance.

A Ukrainian Navy sailor looked out of a window near the entrance to the General Staff Headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy in Sevastopol on March 3.

Pro-Russian demonstrators held a rally outside the regional government building in Donetsk on March 3.

Armed men blocked access to a Ukrainian border guard base near the village of Perevalne on March 3. About 1,000 armed men surrounded the base of the 36th detached brigade of the Ukrainian Navy’s coastal guards in a tense standoff.

Specialist Gregg Maloney worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Global stock markets were down sharply on tensions over Russia’s military advance into Ukraine and the threat of sanctions by Western governments.

A woman looked through a damaged entrance door as pro-Russian demonstrators held a rally outside the regional government building in Donetsk.

A Ukrainian soldier stood behind a fence while unidentified armed men blocked the headquarters of the Ukrainian Navy in Sevastopol.

Activists burned a picture of the 20th-century Ukrainian nationalist movement leader Stepan Bandera during a rally to support the possible military incursions of the Russian army onto the territory of Crimea.

Ukrainian soldiers stood inside the gate of a Ukrainian military base as heavily armed soldiers stood outside on March 3 in Perevalne, Ukraine.

Ukrainians living in Italy protested outside the Russian embassy in Rome on March 3.

Pro-Russian soldiers blocked the Ukrainian naval base in the village of Novoozerne on March 3.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, walked to watch military exercises upon his arrival at the Kirillovsky firing ground in the Leningrad region, on March 3.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke during a press conference after the EU’s foreign ministers gathered in Brussels for emergency talks.

An armed soldier in an armored vehicle blocked the base of the Ukrainian border guard service in the the Crimean port city of Sevastopol on March 1.

This came on the day that Russian parliament granted President Vladimir Putin permission to use the country’s military in Ukraine in a unanimous vote that formalized what Ukrainian officials described as an ongoing deployment of Russian troops in the strategic region of Crimea.

Ukrainian police officers attended a rally to pay their respects for people killed during the latest clashes at the Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine, on March 1.

A woman waved the Russian flag during a pro-Russian rally in Simferopol, Crimea on March 1.

An injured man carried a batton as pro-Russian activists clashed with Maidan supporters as they stormed the regional government building in Kharkiv on March 1.

Dozens were hurt when a pro-Russia protest in Ukraine’s eastern city of Kharkiv turned violent, with demonstrators trying to storm the local government building.

Demonstrators with Russian flags attended a mass rally in downtown Donetsk, Ukraine on March 1.

Thousands of demonstrators were demanding the non-recognition of the Ukrainian Parliament and holding a referendum about joining to Russia.

US President Barack Obama spoke about Ukraine at the White House on Feb. 28.

Obama’s statement came as his administration was expressing growing concern over Russian intentions in Ukraine.

Soldiers blocked a road to Ukrainian military airport Belbek not far from Sevastopol on Feb. 28.

Ukraine accused Russia of staging an “armed invasion” of Crimea that same day and appealed to the West to guarantee its territorial integrity after pro-Moscow gunmen took control of the peninsula’s main airport.

Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko spoke with her supporters in downtown Kiev on Feb. 28.

Deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych spoke at his press-conference in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, on Feb. 28. Yanukovych insisted in his first public appearance since fleeing to Russia that he had not been overthrown and would continue to fight for the future of Ukraine.

Pro-Russian men armed with clubs gathered outside the Crimea regional parliament building after parliamentarians voted for a May 25th referendum on Crimea’s autonomy earlier on Feb. 27.

Russian military vessels were anchored at a navy base in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol in Crimea on Feb. 27.

Ukraine’s former economy minister Arseny Yatseniuk (right) acknowledged applause from his colleagues after being appointed as prime minister on Feb. 27.

People rallied outside the Ukrainian parliament in Kiev on Feb. 27.

Ukraine’s parliament that day approved the nomination of pro-EU Arseniy Yatsenyuk as the country’s new prime minister until presidential polls are held in May. Yatsenyuk was one of the most prominent leaders of the three-month anti-government protests that swept Ukraine, culminating in deadly violence the week before that precipitated the ouster of president Viktor Yanukovych and the collapse of his entire government.

Women showED emotion at a memorial for the people killed in clashes with the police at Kiev’s Independence Square, the epicenter of the country’s current unrest, Ukraine, on Feb. 27.

An antigovernment protester tends a fire as he mans a barricade in Kiev. Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovich, announced concessions to his pro-European opponents on Feb. 21, including a plan to hold early elections, but it was unclear whether the opposition would accept such an EU-mediated deal to end a violent crisis.

Riot police marched near the Ukranian Parliament on Feb. 21.

Ukrainian lawmakers clashed during a Parliament session in Kiev on Feb. 21. Ukraine’s embattled President Viktor Yanukovych said Friday he was calling an early presidential poll as the country inched toward resolving its bloodiest crisis since independence. He also said he was starting the process of changing the constitution and forming a government of national unity.

Fighting broke out between deputies in Ukraine’s Parliament on Feb. 21 when the speaker declared a pause, delaying a debate on a possible resolution calling for President Viktor Yanukovich’s powers to be reduced.

Shown: Ukrainan deputies fight during a session of Parliament.

On Feb. 21, Ukrainian opposition supporters attended a rally at Independence Square as protests continued in downtown Kiev. Yanukovych and opposition leaders have reached a deal that foresees early presidential elections and the formation of an interim government within 10 days. Ukraine’s Health Ministry said that the unrest in Kiev had claimed at least 77 lives since Feb. 18, meaning that 49 people were killed on Feb. 20, making it the bloodiest day in the country’s recent history. Protest leaders put the death toll higher and doctors affiliated with the opposition said more than 100 people died in clashes on Feb. 20.

Antigovernment protesters posed for a picture.

An elderly man played guitar at a barricade in central Kiev. Ukraine’s deputy army chief has resigned in protest over government attempts to involve the army to put down unrest rocking the country, after Kiev erupted in unprecedented deadly violence. “Today the army is being involved in the civil conflict, which could lead to the mass deaths of civilians and soldiers,” General Yuri Dumanski, deputy head of the army’s general staff said in comments broadcast Feb. 21.

A protester stood on a barricade in front of the remains of the Trade Union building on Kiev’s Independence Square.

A woman lit a candle for antigovernment protesters killed in clashes with riot police in Kiev on Feb. 20.

An Lviv, a Ukraine policeman who supported the anti-government protest, prayed with protesters near Independence Square.

An unidentified 17-year-old Ukrainian protester who reportedlly suffered gunshot wounds during recent clashes in Kiev, is seen in a hospital room in Przemysl, Poland on Feb. 21. At least a dozen Ukrainian citizens who were injured during the violent clashes in Kiev have already been hospitalized in Poland.

An antigovernment protester looked through binoculars from a barricade.

Antigovernment protesters slept in City Hall in Kiev on Feb. 21. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich said a deal to resolve his country’s political crisis had been reached with pro-European opposition leaders after the worst violence since Soviet times, but France urged caution.

An antigovernment protester cheered during a rally. Violence flared again in Kiev on Feb. 21 as Ukraine’s opposition politicians pondered a draft deal with Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovich, brokered by EU foreign ministers to resolve the country’s political crisis.

Police officers from Lviv who have arrived to join antigovernment protesters appeared on a stage in Independence Square.

An antigovernment protester looked on.

Israelis with Ukrainian heritage protest in solidarity with antigovernment protesters outside the Ukrainian embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel on Feb. 21.

Antigovernment protesters prayed at a religious statue in Kiev.

An antigovernment protester moved a burning tire at a barricade in Kiev.

A gas mask is seen hung on a barricade.

A medic cleaned the eyes of a protester.

Priests stood on top of a bus holding captured policemen, and asked protesters to release the group held on Feb. 20 during clashes between opposition and government forces. The policemen were eventually set free. Ukraine’s presidency said Feb. 21 that it has negotiated an international deal intended to end battles between police and protesters that have killed scores and injured hundreds. It was unclear whether the deal would appease protesters, and shots rang out that morning in central Kiev.

A priest stands next to antigovernment protesters at a barricade in Kiev.

An antigovernment protester at a barricade in Kiev.

An antigovernment protester gets a blessing from a priest at Independence Square.

Protesters shouted “Glory to the Ukraine” in Independence Square.

An aerial view showed the antigovernment protesters camp in Independence Square on Feb. 21.

Interior Ministry members in plain clothes, detained by antigovernment protesters during clashes, were escorted out after they were granted freedom in central Kiev on Feb. 21.

Antigovernment protesters passed bricks to one another as they built new barricades after clashes with riot police in Independence Square in Kiev on Feb. 20. Fresh fighting broke out in central Kiev on Thursday, shattering a truce declared by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, as the Russian-backed leader met European ministers demanding he compromise with pro-EU opponents.

An antigovernment protester fired off an improvised device in Independence Square in Kiev.

Meanwhile, a spectator painted the colors of the Ukraine flag over her lips at the Sochi Olympic Games.

An antigovernment protester looks out from a barricade in Independence Square on Feb. 20.

Antigovernment protesters built new barricades amid renewed fighting in Independence Square.

A protester smokes during a break in clashes with police in Central Kiev .

After several weeks of calm, violence has again flared between police and antigovernment protesters, who are calling for the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych over corruption and an abandoned trade agreement with the European Union.

Antigovernment protesters prepared to push forward during continued clashes with police in Independence Square, despite a truce between the Ukrainian president and opposition leaders.

Riot police fire at antigovernment demonstrators in Independence Square on Feb. 20. At least 13 people were feared dead and many more injured after heavy street fighting and gunfire broke out.

A protester carries a barrel.

A man plays the trumpet as a clash between protesters and police continued in Ukraine’s capital.

Protesters cheered as they managed to break police blockade.

An antigovernment protester kneels near burning tires on a barricade.

An Orthodox priest gestures while violence rages on in Kiev. As the death toll nears 45, protesters have set up a medical center in a downtown cathedral.

Ukrainian protesters hurled petrol bombs and paving stones to drive riot police from the central square in Kiev.

An injured man reacts as he is carried on a stretcher by antigovernment protesters.

A protester gestures behind two Molotov cocktails.

An injured man is carried by other protesters.

Two antigovernment protesters play a large drum as fighting continues in Ukraine’s capital.

Protesters walk and stand near a burning bus at Institutskaya Street , close to the central Independence Square in Kiev.

A protester climbed on top of a monument depicting Kiev’s founders in Independence Square.

A protester behind one of the many barricades set up outside the Ukranian parliament building.

A man attempts to extinguish a burning vehicle in Kiev on Feb. 20.

An antigovernment protester calls upon his comrades to advance over a burning barricade in Kiev’s Independence Square.

A protester smokes a cigarettes as riot police fire live bullets at protesters.

Students attend a demonstration in the centre of Lviv, Ukraine. Local antigovernment demonstrators have taken over the local administration building, the local seat of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the office of the Security Service of Ukraine. The protesters also controls several militia stations.

Antigovernment protesters stand behind a metal fence wearing gas masks.

A phone hangs from a broken window at the headquarters of the public prosecutor in Lviv, Ukraine.

Antigovernment demonstrators crouch near burning items.

A demonstrator wears a gas mask behind a barricade near Kiev’s Independence Square, known as Maidan.

A protester throws a petrol bomb as he stands behind barricades during clashes with police. Ukraine’s embattled leader announced a “truce” with the opposition as he prepared to get grilled by visiting EU diplomats over clashes that killed 26 and left the government facing diplomatic isolation.

A protester stands behind barricades. The shocking scale of the violence three months into the crisis brought expressions of grave concern from the West and condemnation of an “attempted coup” by the Kremlin.

A protester stands behind barricades during clashes with police on Feb. 20.

A firework, shot by protesters, explodes in front of Ukrainian riot police near one of the barricades at Independence Square.

Ukrainian riot police stand near one of the barricades during continuing antigovernment protests.

Antigovernment protesters stand in line in Independence Square. On Feb. 19, activists occupied the Agriculture Ministry, the central Post Office, and the Public Broadcasting Committee House in Kiev, after the House of Unions, which served as the protest movement’s headquarters, was destroyed by a fire that broke out during unrest a day earlier, local media reported.

Antigovernment protesters stand in line near the monument to the founders of Kiev .

People from Poland and the Ukraine arrange a heart of candles as they take part in a vigil in front of Ukraine Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 19. Several hundred people were reportedly gathering in downtown Warsaw in support of the antigovernment protests in the Ukrainian capital.

Police officers arrest an anti-Russian demonstrator from the group Femen outside of an emergency meeting of EU foreign ministers at the EU Council building in Brussels on Monday, March 3, 2014. EU foreign ministers meet in emergency session on Monday to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. (AP Photo)