Ukraine protest photos: Police and protesters clash during demonstrations in Kiev.

Ukraine protest photos: Police and protesters clash during demonstrations in Kiev.

By Juliana Jiménez Jaramillo and Joshua Keating

Kiev, Ukraine, once against erupted into chaos on Tuesday after riot police moved in to clear the protest camp that has occupied a major square in the city for nearly three months. The opposition and government have been locked in a stalemate ever since President Viktor Yanukovych backed out of a European Union trade deal in November amid heavy pressure from Russia. The crisis had appeared to be heading toward a resolution on Tuesday, when the governmentagreed to an amnesty deal in return for protesters ending their occupation of city hall, but the building has now been reoccupied.

Authorities say that at least 25 people have been killed, including police officers, in clashes between police and protesters. By nightfall, the main protest encampment in Independence Square was ablaze, with the sounds of protest songs and speeches by opposition leaders broadcast around the world.

Anti-government protesters throw stones toward Interior Ministry officers during a rally near Vekhovnaya Rada, Ukraine's parliament, in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014. Several thousand anti-government protesters clashed with police in the worst violence to hit Kiev in several weeks.

Photo by Gleb Garanich/Reuters

Protesters clash with Interior Ministry officers in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014

Photo by Vlad Sodel/Reuters

Protesters clash with the police during their storming of Independence Square in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014. Flames engulfed the main protest camp as riot police tried to force demonstrators out. The iconic square turned into a war zone as riot police moved through opposition barricades from several directions, hurling stun grenades and using water cannons.

Photo by Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images

Protesters protect themselves behind shields as they clash with the police in Independence Square in Kiev on Feb. 19, 2014.

Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

A protester stands on a barricade in Kiev on Feb. 15, 2014.

Photo by Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images

Protesters attempt to break a door inside an office of the pro-presidential Party of the Regions in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo by Andrew Kravchenko/Reuters

A protester wears a gas mask during clashes with Interior Ministry members in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo by Reuters stringer

Demonstrators stand among the smoke of burning barricades during clashes with riot police in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014. Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, a former heavyweight boxing champion, urged women and children to leave Independence Square as riot police massed nearby.

Photo by Sandro Maddalena/AFP/Getty Images

Government police take cover behind shields during clashes with protesters in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo by Vlad Sodel/Reuters

An Interior Ministry officer aims his rifle as others run for cover during clashes with in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo by Konstantin Chernichkin/Reuters

A protester who was injured during clashes with government police receives medical treatment in Kiev on Feb.18, 2014.

Photo by Konstantin Grishin/Reuters

A man injured in clashes between protesters and government police in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo by Konstantin Grishin/Reuters

Protesters march in the streets of Kiev carrying flags and decorated shields on Feb. 15, 2014.

Photo by Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images

An artist paints the portrait of a protester wearing a full military outfit on a barricade in Kiev on Feb. 16, 2014.

Photo by Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images

Demonstrators clash with riot police in central Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo by Sandro Maddalena/AFP/Getty Images

A protester throws a log during clashes with riot police in Independence Square in Kiev.

Photo by David Mdzinarishvili/Reuters

Police clash with protesters in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo by Anatolii Boiko/AFP/Getty Images

Demonstrators clash with riot police in central Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo by Sandro Maddalena/AFP/Getty Images

Government police catch fire from Molotov cocktails hurled by protesters as they stand guard during clashes in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo by Andrew Kravchenko/Reuters

People speak near a barricade on fire during clashes between protesters and government police in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo by Andrew Kravchenko/Reuters

Demonstrators stand on barricades during clashes with riot police in Kiev on Feb. 18, 2014.

Photo by Sandro Maddalena/AFP/Getty Images

Protesters guard the perimeter of Independence Square on Feb. 19, 2014, in Kiev.

Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images

Protesters clash with the police in Independence Square in Kiev on Feb. 19, 2014.

Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP/Getty Images

Also in Slate, Joshua Keating examines how likely a civil war is in Ukraine.