January 22, 2014 - 11:47 AMT
Armenian reportedly killed during Kyiv protests (updated)

The anti-government protest movement in Ukraine said Wednesday, Jan 22, that two people have died following clashes with police in a development that could fuel more popular anger and political tensions, according to RIA Novosti.

Segodnya.ua news website cited staff with the Euromaidan protest movement as saying a 22-year-old activist died after plummeting down the 13-meter-high colonnade of a Kyiv stadium.

The victim, whose name was withheld, was pelting Berkut riot police with fireworks and Molotov cocktails at the time, the report said.

Segodnya.ua said that the man fell after Berkut officers climbed up the colonnade to chase him and fellow demonstrators away.

Another man was shot dead Wednesday in a street located near the Cabinet office and parliament where clashes took place in recent days. According to Ukrainskaya Pravda, the man was Armenian-born Sergey Nikoyan. In December, a video with Nikoyan was made during a protest, where he said he came here “for the future of his country.”

The casualty’s identity and the circumstances of his death were not immediately unclear.

Officials, including police, have not commented on the reports of protesters’ deaths.

Police attempted again to disperse protesters early Wednesday, shooting and pelting them with stun grenades, but were beaten back, the Euromaidan protest group said on Twitter.

Ukrainian media reported Tuesday that authorities planned to deploy almost 10,000 troops to clear rioters from Ulitsa Grushevskogo and possibly also the more pacific proceedings at nearby Independence Square, the site of a months-long peaceful protest.

Photo: pravda.com.ua