Flowers Have Replaced the Fire in Kiev

Just last week, Kiev's Independence Square was unrecognizable with all the fire, barricades, and fighting, but the Ukraine site is now a shrine to the fallen following a weekend of political changes. Since November, protesters have been calling for the removal of Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych, and a few days ago, in the wake of an especially violent week between protesters and police, Parliament voted to oust him. So who, exactly, is running the country? Well, the details aren't very clear. Some say the speaker of Parliament is the acting president, but in a televised broadcast on Saturday, Yanukovych said, "I don't plan to leave the country. I don't plan to resign. I am the legitimate president." In the meantime, officials don't know where he is, and a warrant for his arrest has been issued.

As for Independence Square, the site of the protests, the fire has been replaced with hundreds of flowers. Beside the rubber-tire barricades and ashes, people have laid out bright blooms to honor those who died fighting. Crosses have been carried into the area, and while antigovernment protesters continue to stand guard outside some of the government buildings, families and friends of the dead are also flocking to the area to pay tribute to their loved ones. Take a look at some of the most moving photos of the flower-filled site.