The anti-government protests in Kiev have turned deadly, with three protesters killed as Ukrainian forces moved in to clash with the demonstrators, and talks between leaders of the two factions have produced few results.

All three of the protesters died Wednesday, as fires raged across the city and police brought in armored personnel carriers to clear the ramparts, according to Reuters:

Two of the dead men perished from bullet wounds, Ukraine's general prosecutor said, and the third died after plunging from the top of Dynamo football stadium while fighting with police.

In an attempt to disperse the crowd, forces under Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich used creepy geolocating technology to send an ominous text message to the phones of everyone near the protest zone: "Dear subscriber, you are registered as a participant in a mass disturbance." The government recently criminalized participation in such protests.

[AP Photo: A protester points a handgun during a clash with police in central Kiev, Ukraine, on Wednesday.]