MOSCOW, December 8 (RIA Novosti) – Tens of thousands of pro-EU protesters gathered in Kiev’s Independence Square for a planned March of Millions Sunday.
Opposition forces have called for one million people to assemble in Independence Square at noon (10:00 a.m. GMT) Sunday for rally, the biggest since the 2004 Orange Revolution, in show of anger over the president’s refusal to sign a key EU deal.
Protesters condemn last week’s heavy-handed treatment by police of demonstrators camped in the square, the main protest site in the capital, and demand the government’s ouster and release of activists detained during an attack on police near the president’s administration building.
A group of people waving British flags are also coming to the Independence Square, a RIA Novosti correspondent at the scene said. One of the flags reads: “Great Britain is with you.”
Some 5,000 police will ensure security in the Ukrainian capital, including near the presidential administration and the parliament, which have both also been targeted by rallies.
Several thousand people gathered early Sunday for a rally in support of Ukraine's embattled President Viktor Yanukovych and the government, calling on the opposition to stop destabilizing the country.
Rallies in Kiev and in other cities across Ukraine erupted late last month in reaction to the government’s decision to back away from a deal to sign association agreement and free trade deals with the EU.
