Editor's Note: The Kyiv Post will be providing continuous coverage of the protests in Kyiv and other cities following the government's decision on Nov. 21 to stop European Union integration and suspend pursuit of an association agreement. The rallies started on Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) the night of Nov. 21 and are continuing in Kyiv and other cities in the aftermath of the Nov. 28-29 summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, at which Ukraine and the EU failed to reach any agreement. The events can be followed on Twitter using hashtags #euromaidan and #євромайдан or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/EuroMaydan.
Watch Radio Svoboda’s live video of EuroMaidan rallies HERE
Or check out this live web camera on Maidan Nezalezhnosti HERE
Another live feed can be found HERE
SEE OTHER KYIV POST EUROMAIDAN COVERAGE HERE:
EuroMaidan rallies (live updates)
EuroMaidan rallies on Nov. 28: EuroMaidan rallies in Ukraine
EuroMaidan rallies on Nov. 27: EuroMaidan rallies in Ukraine
EuroMaidan rallies on Nov. 26: EuroMaidan rallies in Ukraine
EuroMaidan rallies on Nov. 25: EuroMaidan rallies in Ukraine
EuroMaidan rallies on Nov. 24: EuroMaidan rallies in Ukraine
EuroMaidan rallies from Nov. 21-23: EuroMaidan rallies in Ukraine
See also coverage of the first night of the protests: “Nine years after start of Orange Revolution, Kyivans take to streets in protest of scuttled EU deal”
Rally winds down with Ruslana inviting all back at noon Sunday
Nov. 29, 9:55 p.m. The rally winds down. Ruslana, the singer and unofficial emcee of the EuroMaidan, calls for a peaceful revolution. There are at least 3,000 people on the main square. Some will stay all night. Some will return tomorrow. But the next big event is noon on Dec. 1. Ruslan closes off by turning on a recording by Okean Elzy, playing their song “Vstavai,” as people sing and dance. Early, she kicked off a right-wing, violence-spouting speaker who had taken the microphone for a minute. — Daryna Shevchenko
Shuster Live political talk back on air
Nov. 29, 9:54 p.m. After a short break, a widely watched political talk show went back on air featuring the three opposition leaders of Oleh Tiahnybok, Arseniy Yatseniuk and Vitali Klitschko. Lawmakers from the ruling Party of Regions present in the studio had reportedly balked when they learned that the three had arrived for a talk show and blocked their entry. A Russian TV series aired instead from 9:30 p.m. until about 9:52 before the show went live. –Mark Rachkevych
Pro-government channel blocks talk show with opposition leaders
Nov. 29, 9:30 p.m. The nation’s highest rated television channel, Inter, stopped broadcasting political talk show called Shuster Live when three opposition leaders Arseniy Yatseniuk, Vitali Klitschko and Oleh Tiahnybok showed up in the studio shortly after the show started. Ukrainska Pravda reported as well as several members of parliament on their Facebook pages.
Inter is also known for its pro-government slant.
The Kyiv Post confirmed that Shuster Live was supposed to go on air at 9:30 p.m. and last until 1:40 a.m., according to the Inter’s website programming schedule. Instead, Inter is airing a Russian TV series.
Journalist Mustafa Nayem, the show’s participant, wrote on his Facebook page that during the break Savik Shuster, the host, said that it could be his last show.
According to lawmaker Iryna Herashchenko’s Facebook page, when lawmakers from the ruling Party of Regions learned that the opposition leaders had entered the studio, they blocked the doors from opening, saying that they weren’t on the list of guests tonight. –Mark Rachkevych
Pro-European rally outlines demands, issues official resolution
Nov. 29, 9 p.m. EuroMaidan organizers issued a resolution that outlines their demands and plans for further action.
It begins, “We, citizens of Ukraine, who united to support the idea of Euro-integration, declare: we continue the fight for a European Ukraine and will act so that our main demand of signing an association agreement with the European Union is fulfilled.”
It says that President Viktor Yanukovych “ignored” the will of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who called on him to take Ukraine into a European future that “millions of Ukrainians want…he is taking the nation into the past.”
The resolution proposed the following:
1. Form a coordinating committee to communicate with the European community.
2. To state that the president, parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers aren’t capable of carrying out a geopolitically strategic course of development for the state and calls on Yanukovych’s resignation.
3. Demand the cessation of political repressions against EuroMaidan activists, students, civic activists and opposition leaders.
The resolution stated that on Dec. 1, on the anniversary of Ukraine’s independence day referendum, that the group will gather at noon on Independence Square to announce their further course of action. — Mark Rachkevych
Klitschko goes into crowd
Nov. 29, 8:56 p.m. After his speech, Vitali Klitschko rushed into the crowd of protesters. “Vitali, do something! We are relying on you!” one woman shouded. “Vitali! When are you going to define a single opposition candiate?” asked a student. Klitschko looked embarrassed speaking with the students.He said the opposition started discussions on uniting behind a single candidate in Vilnius, Lithuania, but haven’t agreed yet. “I am sure that peopel can’t wait for a month, so we should do this soon,” Klitschko said. — Oksana Grytsenko
Ruslan reads statement, vows to fight on, calls next big rally for Dec. 1.
Nov. 29, 8:25 p.m. Ruslana, the popular singer and permanent fixture during the EuroMaidan protests, read a statement: “We continue our fight for a European future. In spite of Yanukovych’s failure, we showed that we can organize ourselves and old peaceful protests. We are real Europeans.We demand that authorities stop the pressure on EuroMaidan activists arrested. On Dec. 1, on the anniversary of independence, we’ll come to Maidan to hold a civil council.”
Polish member of parliament lends support
Nov. 29, 20:21 p.m. A member of the Polish parliament: “I’m here to tell you Ukraine is a European state. Its culture and history are important parts of Europe. No one can ban the Ukrainian people from going to Europe. Russia must respect it.” — Olga Rudenko
Opposition leaders leave quickly
Nov. 29, 8:10 p.m. The three opposition leaders didn’t bother to stay on stage for the rest of the demonstration. After giving their speeches, the trio — Vitali Klitschko, Arseniy Yatseniuk and Oleh Tiahnybok — left after 20 minutes. The hasty exit left disappointment. — Olga Rudenko
Back from Vilnius, opposition leaders demand government’s resignation
Nov. 29, 8:09 p.m. Opposition leaders Arseniy Yatseniuk (Batkivshchyna), Vitali Klitschko (UDAR) and Oleh Tiahnybok (Svoboda) returned from the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius to demand the government’s resignation, including that of President Viktor Yanukovych’s, while addressing the crowd on Independence Square.
Klitschko, in reference to Prime Minister Mykola Azarov’s order to cancel European integration negotiations on Nov. 21, said that treason was committed. The president appoints the prime minister.
“They (Yanukovych and Azarov) stole your hope, your hope to live in a modern European country, hope to defeat corruption and get a well-paying job, hope to live better…they stole this,” said Klitschko.
He urged the crowd not to “get goaded into provocations by the (so-called) hired thugs,” in reference to the groups of athletically-built, plainclothes young men seen in central Kyiv today who are often used to disrupt demonstrations, seize buildings, and attack journalists.
“We must unite to conquer this government, this disorder and lawlessness…to defend our right to live in a free country,” he continued.
After his speech, 2004 Eurovision song contest winner Ruslan came on stage with a list of demands that called on the government sign the association agreement with the EU. – Mark Rachkevych
Ruslana says coordination group will call on Yanukovych to resign
Nov. 29, 8:05 p.m. Ruslana, the popular singer and unoffical emcee of EuroMaidan events, called for the formation of a coordination committee to force the resignation of President Viktor Yanukovych — Oksana Grytsenko
Klitschko warns paid provocateurs
Nov. 29, 8:03 p.m. Vitali Klitschko, one of the world’s great athletes, warned other sportsmen not to sell themselves for hire to the government as paid provocateurs who beat up demonstrators and cause disorder. “Don’t let yourself be used. The government will do everything for protests to get bloody.” — Olga Rudenko
Sound bites
Nov. 29, 8 p.m. – Oleh Tiahnybok of Svoboda party: “They are creating a dictatorship, a police state.”
Vitali Klitschko of UDAR: “Our hope has been stolen today. Breaking off from the signign of the association greement is state treason.”
Klitschko fires up crowd
Nov. 29, 7:53 p.m. Of all the speakers from the political opposition, Vitali Klitschko — the boxing champion and member of parliament — got the most crowd reaction.
“Only the next government can sign the association agreement with the European Union!” Klitschko said.
People interrupt to ask what they should do.
“We must unite!” he shouted.
“We are united already,” many in the crowd shouted back.
“Our hope today to live in a better country was stolen,” he says.
People shouted “revolution” and “single candidate” – a reference to the need for the political opposition to unite behind one candidate to challenge President Viktor Yanukovych’s re-election in 2015. — Olga Rudenko, Daryna Shevchenko and Oksana Grytsenko.
Opposition leaders take stage and fire up crowd
Nov. 29, 7:42 p.m. Fresh from Vilnius, Lithuania, the three big political opposition leaders have taken the stage to fire up the crowd.
Arseniy Yatseniuk, leader of the opposition Batkivshchyna party: “We cannot from today on call Viktor Yanukovych the president of Ukraine. Who won today? Vladimir Putin. Who betrayed? Viktor Yanukovych. Who lost? All Ukrainians and Europe.” Yatseniuk said the opposition will seek Yanukovych’s impeachment in parliament — an empty threat since they don’t have the votes. Yatseniuk also announced plans to carry out rallies all over Ukraine.
Oleh Tyahnybok, leader of the opposition Svoboda party, adopts aggressive rhetoric: “The government that didn’t lead us to Europea must be kicked out. To kick it out of the Pechersk hills, we must all be like one.”
And then Vitali Klitschko takes the stage and says: “Kick out the ‘zeck’ (slang for convict, a popular slang term for President Viktor Yanukovych, who served two prison terms as a young adult for robbery and assault).” He also called on the “zeck” to come to the boxing ring, a challenge that would end badly for Yanukovych since Klitschko is the world’s heavyweight boxing champion.
People shout, “Together we are the force.” — Olga Rudenko, Daryna Shevchenko and Oksana Grytsenko.
Rally under way as 10,000 gather and speakers take stage
Nov. 29, 7:28 p.m. The rally is going full swing, with ex-Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko having just left the stage.
Earlier, Vasyl Gatsko, head of the Democratic Alliance party, said “the strength of” President Viktor Yanukovych today “is based on our our weakness.”
Yegor Sobolev, a civil activist and of the EuroMaidan organizers, spoke. He talked about a man who brought Hr 10,000 for the needs of the demonstration. “It was the second or third person who offered that much money. Now we have all we need — tents, power generators. In just a week, a perfect civil movement called EuroMaidan, started in Ukraine.” The person who introduced Sobolev said that the activist had a heart attack because of the tension, but Sobolev made no reference to that. He did suggest adopting an aggressive approach and derided police for trying to stop protesters with weak fences and “Ded Moroz’s houses” (meaning Christmas fair kiosks on Maidan). We need to become a force so strong that no fences can stop.”
Tonight’s musical entertainment: Gaidamaky, Mandry, Kryhitka and Ruslana are supposed to perform. — Olga Rudenko, Daryna Shevchenko and Oksana Grytsenko.
A group of foreigners have produced a video to show their support for Ukraine.
Crowd swelling on Maidan
Nov. 29, 6:39 p.m.
About 20 minutes before a big rally is scheduled to start, an estimated 8,000 people are occupying Independence Square. The atmosphere is lively and the people are energetic. — Christopher Miller
New tradition on Maidan: Singing the national anthem
Nov. 29, 6:11 p.m. The crowd minutes ago finished singing Ukraine’s national anthem, which has become an on-the-hour feature of the ongoing EuroMaidan demonstrations against the government’s decision to scrap closer ties with the European Union, bowing to Russian pressure. –– Daryna Shevhenko
Huge police presence at Presidential Administration building
Nov. 29, 6:05 p.m. A huge police presence — a few thousand riot police — are guarding the Presidential Adminstration, but it’s calm because most demonstrators are on Independence Square. — Christopher Miller
EuroMaidan speakers warn crowd not to respond to provocations
Nov. 29, 6 p.m. — Speakers who are taking the stage at the EuroMaidan rally scheduled to start within the hour are warning people not to react to possible provocations, ostensibly from forces loyal to the government. Busloads of suspicious-looking men have been seen near the main square. They also warn against false information about other locations and times for tonight’s rally and remind everyone to come to Independence Square at 7 p.m. — Olga Rudenko and Kostyantyn Chernichkin
Tense scene as police and protesters mass on Maidan Nezalezhnosti
Nov. 29, 5:47. Thousands of police officers and demonstrators are mingling now on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Ukraine’s Independence Square, ahead of a 7 p.m. rally. Police have said they will close the main Khreshchatyk Street to avoid accidents. It’s an epic and tense scene as people keep arriving. More than 4,000 people have arrived. A group of men with their faces covered with scarves and medical masks — at least two dozen in all — stand in the crowd near the monument to Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv — the three brothers who legendarily founded Kyiv.They look to be spoiling for a fight. They do not appear to be “titushkas,” provocateurs who are paid to disrupt rallies, but rather they appear to be activists of the militantly national Svoboda party, one of the three major political oppositional forces in the nation. — Olga Rudenko and Daryna Shevchenko
Group: More than 10,000 police getting ready to disperse protesters on Maidan
Nov. 29, 4:30 p.m. A live feed on Channel 5 shows and a pro-democracy group says that some 10,000 riot police have encircled Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) where a pro-European rally has been underway since Nov. 21.
The group, Nastup, says the police “are just waiting for the order to clear the Maidan of demonstrators and is scheduled to start in 15-20 minutes.”
Nastup in addition said that the police forbade demonstrators to bring loud speakers to tonight’s scheduled 7 p.m. rally.
“The police want to disperse the crowd to prevent them from transforming the demonstration into a political one,” says the pro-democracy group. – Mark Rachkevych
Pro-government demonstration at European Square ebbs
Nov. 29, 4:15 p.m. The pro-government rally on European Square is winding down, three hours before the pro-European rally is scheduled to start on Independence Square, less than a kilometer away on Khreshchatyk Street. Fewer than 1,000 people were left just before 4 p.m. Automobile traffic started moving again. — Nataliya Trach
Opposition leaders leave Vilnius to return to Kyiv for 7 p.m. rally tonight
Nov. 29, 3:41 p.m. The three major political opposition leaders — Arseniy Yatseniuk, Oleh Tiahnybok and Vitali Klitschko — will join tonight’s rally with “a clear plan of action,” according to a press release by the Batkivshchyna party that Yatseniuk leads while ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko remains in prison. “Our plan of action – a united struggle in 2015 for a new president of Ukraine who can sign an agreement with the European Union. They regard the failure of President Viktor Yanukovych to sign a political and free trade pact with the EU at the just-completed summit to be a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin and a betrayal of Ukrainians. Western support has been lost, Yatseniuk said. He accused authorities of a new wave of repression against Tymoshenko by transferring her out of a hospital in Kharkiv, where she is suffering from back ailments, to the prison in the eastern city. “We are united in our desire to sign an agreement with the EU, our will for Ukraine to become part of the great European family.” He said the political opposition will fight by “parliamentary and non-parliamentary methods.” — Brian Bonner
Rocks and sticks thrown at TV crew in park where two journalists were earlier beaten
Nov. 29, 2:30 p.m. Athletically-built men in plainclothes believed to be hired thugs threw rocks and sticks at a Channel 5 TV crew in a centrally-located park, where two journalists were beaten just before noon, the television station reported.
According to Channel 5, there are several hundred young men gathered in Marinsky Park near the Cabinet of Ministers and parliament buildings. Police are nowhere in sight, the TV station added. – Mark Rachkevych
US ambassador condemns attack on journalists
Nov. 29, 2:28 p.m. “We strongly support the right to freedom of speech, press and assembly, and condemn today’s attack on Ukrainian journalists.” – Geoffrey Pyatt, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, from his Twitter account. — Christopher Miller
Pro-European rally co-leader: ‘More personalized messages to Yanukovych needed’
Nov. 29, 1: 53 p.m. A co-organizer and the chief coordinator of the radical Spilna Sprava (Common Cause) group has called on protesters to display more “personalized” messages that express their attitude toward President Viktor Yanukovych’s failure to sign a breakthrough political and trade deal with the European Union. “Today on the Maidan, we need more banners, more placards that state, ‘Yanukovych, Begone!’ This will be our response to the provocateurs, who are trying to transform the Euro-revolution into a discotheque and preserve the existing regime,” said Oleksandr Danyliuk in a news release, referring to a pro-government rally and concert being held nearby on European Square. “Draw them up yourselves, this will be your small contribution in our common cause.” On the morning of Nov. 27, Danyliuk’s 2007 Hyundai Tucson was burnt to the ground where it was parked near his residence in Solomyansky district in southwestern Kyiv. He said there were no eyewitnesses, adding that a notebook computer, organizational documents and unpublished materials perished in the fire. — Mark Rachkevych
Thousands on European Square hearing pro-Yanukovych side
Nov. 29, 1:57 p.m. Party of Regions pro-presidential member of parliament Vladyslav Lukianov, speaking at the pro-government rally on European Square: “I’m sure that our movement to Europe will never change. We support this choice. Let the land shatter from our steps. Together we will win.” The demonstration is expected to last until at least 4 p.m., followed by a concert. Some men are carrying what looked to be metal sticks and they look scary. However, upon closer examination, the metal sticks turned out to be plastic holders for flags. Nearly 200 people from Ternopil came to this rally; one woman said she was offered incentives to come — food for the New Year’s table — from her employer, a hospital. Others appear to be homeless; still more look drunk. The crowd consists mostly of men. — Olga Rudenko and Nataliya Trach
Small crowd of students at Shevchenko Park
Nov. 29, 1:35 p.m. Around 300 students gathered in Shevchenko Park at 12.30 p.m. when Stanislav Greshyshyn, one of the leaders, sent them on their way to join Maidan protesters. — Olena Goncharova
Pro-government demonstration at European Square (updated)
Nov. 29, 1:30 p.m. A mass pro-government demonstration is happening at European Square. At least a few thousand people have gathered there in support of President Viktor Yanukovych and his ruling Party of Regions. Performers are keeping the crowd entertained with songs and chants.
Olga Bilyk, a Kyiv police spokeswoman, told the Kyiv Post that organizers of the pro-government rally at European Square applied for permission to hold a meeting for some 50,000 people.
Pro-government news station First National Television is broadcasting the event live here: http://1tv.com.ua/uk/live — Christopher J. Miller, Oksana Grytsenko
Journalists attacked in Kyiv’s Mariinskiy Park (updated)
Nov. 29, 12:05 p.m. Two journalists from Hromadske.TV were attacked just before noon on Nov. 29 while filming in a central Kyiv Park.
“Dmytro Gnap with Hromadske.TV attacked near Mariinsky Park. Broke his camera and took flash card,” Channel 5 journalist Tatiana Danilenko posted to her Twitter and Facebook pages.
A message on the live EuroMaidan feed of public online news site Hromadske.TV says Yakiv Lyubchych, along with Gnap, was attacked, and that the camera they were using was broken and the memory card inside taken. “Our crew was filming how people in sportswear were going from Mariinsky Park to European Square,” the message continued.
Gnap managed to make his way back to the news site’s office, where he spoke on camera about the incident.
“There were a lot of them,10-15 hands clung to my hood. They were beating me everywhere on the body. I was trying to defend myself,” he said. “The policemen, Yakiv and I were dragged along the ground. I feel sorry about the video (camera that was broken). There is a huge square crowded by ‘titushkas’ (paid provocateurs).”
Lyubchych said that one of the titushkas even warned policeman at the scene that they would be fired soon.
Police are ready to investigate the case, but first journalists of Channel 5 must provide them with statements and officially open a case, Olga Bilyk, a Kyiv police spokeswoman told the Kyiv Post. She added that the police don’t know about alleged additional attacks on two policemen at the hands of the hired thugs.
She said that hundreds of athletically-built men are currently walking in downtown Kyiv, but that they could not simply arrest any man in a track suit. “Only that fact that a man is wearing a sports suit can’t be a reason to arrest him,” she said.
— Christopher J. Miller, Oksana Grytsenko
Big rally set to take place at 7 p.m. tonight
Nov. 29, 11:41 a.m. — Disappointment is deepening on the streets of Kyiv as the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, wraps up today. Demonstrators keep coming to Maidan Nezalezhnosti to join EuroMaidan protests, which are entering its ninth day on Nov. 29. Around 2,000 people have already come. Yegor Sobolev, one of EuroMaidan’s leaders, says there are no plans to block the main Khreshchatyk Street during the day. He encourages everyone to come to Maidan tonight at 7 p.m. and decide on their plans. He also warns protesters that “titushki” — paid provocateurs hired to disrupt rallies and provoke police — may appear today among the activists. However, most of the activists are confident enough that the Maidan protests will be peaceful. Oleksa Melnyk, who came from Kolomyya four days ago to support pro-European protests, is sure “they will stand to the end and find proper decision on what to do.” A student rally will start up at noon in Shevchenko Park. Another student march will take place to Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti). — Olena Goncharova
