Police this morning rip down barricades to disperse protesters on Hrushevskoho Street near Kyiv’s Dynamo Stadium, in a bid to end a standoff that has claimed one life and injured more than 100 people since Jan. 19. However, after retreating several dozen meters, protesters regrouped and continued the standoff. Image is a screen shot from Espresso TV’s live feed.

A crowd chanting “Murderers!” and “Glory to Ukraine” briefly retreated this morning after a police assault on their positions killed at least two persons by gunshot. A third victim, also a protester, reportedly died from injuries in a fall.

The demonstrators quickly regrouped and renewed parts of barricades torn down by officers and returned to their original standoff point on Hrushevskoho Street after getting pushed back to European Square, some 500 meters away.

</div></div>Live stream of standoff between police and protesters near Kyiv’s Dynamo Stadium

When news of the police advance circulated this morning, people started rushing to the scene, swelling by 9 a.m. the crowd size that had dwindled considerably overnight. Several hundred demonstrators were estimated to be at the scene by mid-morning, resuming a violent conflict that began on Jan. 19. They shouted “Come to our side!” to the police and lobbed Molotov cocktails and fireworks as an Orthodox Church priest tried to mediate.

Gunshots were fired overnight, killing two EuroMaidan protesters, both men, according to Oleg Musiy, the coordinator of medical services for the demonstration said this morning. Meanwhile, a third death — also of a man, reportedly from injuries in a fall — has been confirmed but with few details.

Musiy confirmed both gunshot victims and said it’s not possible that the fatal injuries occurred from rubber bullets police had been using to fire on demonstrators. “It is impossible,” Musiy said, meaning that the bullets used were conventional. One died from a gunshot wound to the heart; the other from multiple gunshot wounds, Musiy said.

Both victims were said to be men in their 20s or 30s who joined the protest camp. Their names had not been officially released this morning.

The victim was brought to the medical service with “four wounds to the head, neck, on a chest. The experts will check whether the bullets were rubber.”

The death is the first confirmed since EuroMaidan confrontations started two months ago and comes on a holiday called Unity Day, meant to celebrate the nation’s first declaration of independence in 1919, uniting east and west Ukraine.

Meanwhile, shortly after the police push, more protesters returned to the square by Kyiv’s Dynamo Stadium, the scene of violence since Jan. 19 in which more than 100 police and protesters have reportedly been hurt in clashes.

Today, the draconian laws approved by pro-presidential majority on Jan.16, came into effect. The law paves way for a massive government crackdown on protesters, activists and journalists.

On Hrushevsky Street, police are repeatedly blasting a message from loudspeaker to back off and stop mass disorders, warning that it’s a “grave violation of law.”

“The department of interior affairs demands that you stop these actions,” the message says.

Around 8 a.m. the police ripped apart protesters’ barricades on Hrushevskoho Street in an effort to end the standoff. Earlier, they had destroyed a catapult constructed to fire rocks and other objects at their ranks. Throughout the night, police heavily fortified their positions and protesters expected a strike.