The protests in Ukraine have been going strong for two months, with no clear end in sight. Last week, the first deaths as a result of clashes with police were recorded, and at this point in time the conflict seems to be continuing indefinitely. If you aren’t really in the loop or haven’t been keeping up, these insightful and evocative images of the protest  taken by photographer Ilya Varlamov will open your eyes to what is really going on.

According to the NYTimes, the protests began after  president Viktor Yanukovych “set off the protests in November when he broke a promise to sign far-reaching political and free trade agreements with the European Union. Instead, he secured $15 billion in aid from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.”

Ilya Varlamov adds unique commentary to his photos stating that:

“All of the action you see in the pictures are happening on a small square near the entrance to a Dinamo stadium.There is dark smoke and fire on all pictures: those are mostly burning tires. There is not tangible damage to the buildings. … So the picture is pretty apocalyptic, but things are not so bad.”

Nonetheless, these images paint a pretty bleak picture.

[Source : FastCoexit]