It was the epicenter of the revolution that started last November and eventually led to the ousting of Ukraine's president.

Now, Kiev's Independence Square is in flames once again.

The square, which was the site of the Euromaidan protests, looked like its former self on Thursday as demonstrators confronted city workers who were attempting to clear a central square. They set fire to tires as dark plumes of smoke rose over Ukraine's capital, and the fetid smell of burnt rubber permeated the air.

Independence Square never really cleared out after the clashes between protesters and Ukraine's old government regime dwindled when former president Viktor Yanukovych fled the country. Makeshift barricades still litter the area, and it remains a campout spot for several hundred head-strong protesters.

Although Ukraine elected its new president, Petro Poroshenko, in May, many Maidan protesters have said they will remain on the square to ensure the new government follows through on promises of reform.

The protesters first assembled in Independence Square in late November after Yanukovych backed out of an agreement with the European Union that would have more closely aligned Ukraine with the West.

The former president, instead, sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin — a move that Ukrainians saw as a step backwards in their long pursuit of a new, post-Soviet identity.

Some information in this report was provided by the Associated Press.