- Protesters say two were shot dead by police and one fell from a 'high altitude' near the scene of clashes
- Meanwhile, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov speaks out about the protests and appeals for calm
- Security forces pelted with rocks and makeshift explosives, and retaliated with rubber bullets and tear gas
- Tensions comes as government passes harsh new anti-protest laws in attempt to reclaim the streets
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Struck: A security officer struggles with his helmet moments after being engulfed in flame
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Three protesters have died in clashes with police in the Ukraine today as a shocking video emerged of a man having his hand blown off in the capital by a stun grenade.
The gruesome clip appears to be filmed during a protest. It shows the grenade going off before protesters attending to an injured man whose hand is ripped to shreds while blood spurts from his wrist.
Meanwhile, Oleh Musiy, coordinator of the medical corps for the anti-government protesters, said one activist died this morning in the hospital after falling from a high altitude at the site of the clashes. ..
Musiy suggested two other protesters died after being shot.
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Under fire: This photograph, released by the Ukranian government, shows an officer after he was hit by a petrol bomb
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Violent clashes between protesters and security forces have continued as Russia warned the fraught situation was 'getting out of control'.
Shocking images from the capital Kiev show police officers covered in flames after being hit by petrol bombs, thrown by pro-EU demonstrators in a conflict which has wounded hundreds of people.
Security forces have responded by using stun grenades, rubber bullets and tear gas against the protesters.
Clashes continued through the morning as officers blocking access to the Verkhovna Rada parliament buildings were confronted by thousands of protesters banging sticks on metal cannisters.
Some reports say that demonstrators had built a giant catapult behind a barricade of burned-out vehicles to hurl projectiles at police. There have also been claims of opposition forces using lasers to blind officers.
Government sources said that at least 163 members of the security forces had been wounded, and 80 hospitalised.
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Struggle: Security forces have been confronted by thousands of demonstrators since Sunday
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Help: An armoured officers attempts to help a comrade who has been hit by a flaming projectile
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Clash: This image from Tuesday morning shows a row of shielded officers confronted with an explosive
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The stand-off has brought tensions between protesters and the authorities to a new high after two months of rallies over the government abandoning a pact for closer ties with the EU.
New set of laws, which ban nearly all forms of protest in the ex-Soviet country and have enraged demonstrators, were officially published today, and are set to come into force at midnight.
The laws, set out in the wake of warnings from President Viktor Yanukovych that the violence threatened the entire country, allow for jail terms of up to five years for those who blockade public buildings. They also set out provisions to arrest protesters wearing masks or helmets.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov stepped into the row after calls from opposition leaders failed to calm the situation.
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Stand-off: Demonstrators, who are faced with harsh new laws from tomorrow, face down a line of armed police
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Attacks: Protesters have pelted officers with stones, which can be seen here in front of a defensive formation
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Barricades: Demonstrators pull over a bus to provide cover from security forces, who have used rubber bullets
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He said: 'They show that the situation is getting out of control', describing the situation as an 'absolute violation of all European norms of behaviour'.
He also slammed the EU's 'indecent' support of the protest movement against Yanukovych.
On Tuesday, the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay called the situation in Ukraine 'very worrying' and said the government should suspend the controversial anti-protest laws.
The clashes follow two months of protests, and are thought to have involved some 10,000 demonstrators.
It was not immediately clear how many protesters were injured as many were afraid to seek medical help on fears of getting arrested, but activists said hundreds were hurt.
At least 35 journalists were hurt in the clashes and some received injuries to their faces and eyes from rubber bullets, Ukrainian press freedom group the Institute of Mass Information said.
The interior ministry said 50 activists had been arrested as part of an investigation for mass rioting.
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Calls for peace: Members of the Ukrainian clergy stand between police and demonstrators
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Defiant: An activist shouts slogans in the midst of the struggles
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| \Negotiations: Opposition leader Vitali Klitschko, centre, has tried to speak to the Ukrainian president about the situation, but was turned away |
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Sinister: An opposition supporter wearing a mask associated with the anarchic Anonymous movement stands on a roof in front of protests
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The opposition led by three politicians including former world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko said it was ready for dialogue but stressed it wanted to hold talks with Yanukovych, not his aides.
Klitschko went to the presidential administration in Kiev for a meeting with Yanukovych but left after being told the president was too busy to receive him, his party said.
Opposition leaders appeared unable to have any influence on the hard core of radical protesters and stopped short of supporting their actions.
But Ukraine's jailed former prime minister and opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko came out in support of those clashing with police, saying she would be with them if she could.
And today opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who had previously condemned violent protests, said the situation has changed.
'People have received the right to switch from peaceful to non-peaceful protest because the deafness of the authorities and their disregard for the people,' he said.
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