Anti-govt protesters topple Lenin statue in Kiev, demand Ukraine turn to EU, not Russia

Pro-European Union activists gather around a huge poster of jailed former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, bottom, during a rally in the Independence Square in KIev, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013. Over 200,000 angry Ukrainians occupied a central Kiev square on Sunday, to denounce President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to turn away from Europe and align this ex-Soviet republic with Russia, as massive protests continued for a third week. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) (The Associated Press)

Pro-European Union activists walk behind barricades next to Ukrainian government buildings in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians rallied in the center of Kiev on Sunday, denouncing President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to turn away from Europe in the biggest rally in years, raising the stakes in a tense political standoff gripping this ex-Soviet republic. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) (The Associated Press)

KIEV, Ukraine – Anti-government protesters have toppled the state of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin in central Kiev amid huge protests gripping Ukraine.

A group of protesters dragged down and decapitated the landmark statue Sunday evening after hundreds of thousands of others took to the streets to denounce the government's move away from Europe and toward Moscow.

Protesters took turns beating on the torso of the fallen statue, while others chanted "Glory to Ukraine!"

The chaotic protest further raised tensions in the Ukrainian capital.