SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A general view shows a mass rally called "The March of a Million" held on Kiev's Independence Square on December 8, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of pro-EU Ukrainians rallied in Kiev on December 8 for a new protest aimed at forcing President Viktor Yanukovych to resign after he sparked fury by rejecting an EU pact under Kremlin pressure.
(Photo: SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
Kiev Rally Draws Hundreds of Thousands in Ukraine
Independent Square remains occupied by anti-government encampment as crowds swell
Dec 08, 2013
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian protesters demanding the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovich took to the central square of Kiev on Sunday in the largest demonstration yet against the ruling government.
The demonstrators, who have occupied Independent Square and many government buildings in the capital city for over a week expected as many as one million people to attend the rally.
Footage showed huge crowds gathering throughout the day despite the cold weather and growing political tension in a country that is now torn between its historic alliance with Russia and the push for closer ties with Europe.
As Reuters reports:
Sunday's rally marks a further escalation in a weeks-long confrontation between authorities and protesters that has raised fears for political and economic stability in the former Soviet republic of 46 million people.
"This is a decisive moment when all Ukrainians have gathered here because they do not want to live in a country where corruption rules and where there is no justice," said world heavyweight boxing champion-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko.
The opposition accuses Yanukovich, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, of preparing to take Ukraine into a Moscow-led customs union, which they see as an attempt to recreate the Soviet Union.
"We are on a razor's edge between a final plunge into cruel dictatorship and a return home to the European community," jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko said in an emotional message to the crowd read out by her daughter Yevgenia.
"There is a significantly greater chance of ending up in a medieval dictatorship; the choice is in your hands," said Tymoshenko, Yanukovich's main rival, who is serving a seven-year jail sentence for abuse of office in a case condemned by the West as politically motivated.
And this footage from Sunday afternoon shows the heart of the opposition movement as the crowds gathered in Independent Square:
Майдан в Україні (відео з ялинки) #ЄвромайданВідео: Протести в Україні, Український Майдан 2014 року «Марш мільйонів» – друге Народне віче у Києві Meeting ...
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian protesters demanding the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovich took to the central square of Kiev on Sunday in the largest demonstration yet against the ruling government.
The demonstrators, who have occupied Independent Square and many government buildings in the capital city for over a week expected as many as one million people to attend the rally.
Footage showed huge crowds gathering throughout the day despite the cold weather and growing political tension in a country that is now torn between its historic alliance with Russia and the push for closer ties with Europe.
As Reuters reports:
Sunday's rally marks a further escalation in a weeks-long confrontation between authorities and protesters that has raised fears for political and economic stability in the former Soviet republic of 46 million people.
"This is a decisive moment when all Ukrainians have gathered here because they do not want to live in a country where corruption rules and where there is no justice," said world heavyweight boxing champion-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko.
The opposition accuses Yanukovich, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, of preparing to take Ukraine into a Moscow-led customs union, which they see as an attempt to recreate the Soviet Union.
"We are on a razor's edge between a final plunge into cruel dictatorship and a return home to the European community," jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko said in an emotional message to the crowd read out by her daughter Yevgenia.
"There is a significantly greater chance of ending up in a medieval dictatorship; the choice is in your hands," said Tymoshenko, Yanukovich's main rival, who is serving a seven-year jail sentence for abuse of office in a case condemned by the West as politically motivated.
And this footage from Sunday afternoon shows the heart of the opposition movement as the crowds gathered in Independent Square:
Майдан в Україні (відео з ялинки) #ЄвромайданВідео: Протести в Україні, Український Майдан 2014 року «Марш мільйонів» – друге Народне віче у Києві Meeting ...
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian protesters demanding the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovich took to the central square of Kiev on Sunday in the largest demonstration yet against the ruling government.
The demonstrators, who have occupied Independent Square and many government buildings in the capital city for over a week expected as many as one million people to attend the rally.
Footage showed huge crowds gathering throughout the day despite the cold weather and growing political tension in a country that is now torn between its historic alliance with Russia and the push for closer ties with Europe.
As Reuters reports:
Sunday's rally marks a further escalation in a weeks-long confrontation between authorities and protesters that has raised fears for political and economic stability in the former Soviet republic of 46 million people.
"This is a decisive moment when all Ukrainians have gathered here because they do not want to live in a country where corruption rules and where there is no justice," said world heavyweight boxing champion-turned-politician Vitaly Klitschko.
The opposition accuses Yanukovich, who met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, of preparing to take Ukraine into a Moscow-led customs union, which they see as an attempt to recreate the Soviet Union.
"We are on a razor's edge between a final plunge into cruel dictatorship and a return home to the European community," jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko said in an emotional message to the crowd read out by her daughter Yevgenia.
"There is a significantly greater chance of ending up in a medieval dictatorship; the choice is in your hands," said Tymoshenko, Yanukovich's main rival, who is serving a seven-year jail sentence for abuse of office in a case condemned by the West as politically motivated.
And this footage from Sunday afternoon shows the heart of the opposition movement as the crowds gathered in Independent Square:
Майдан в Україні (відео з ялинки) #ЄвромайданВідео: Протести в Україні, Український Майдан 2014 року «Марш мільйонів» – друге Народне віче у Києві Meeting ...
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.