Although Kyiv's police headquarters announced that at their height there were a total of 35,000 protesters in Ukraine's capital, there were hundreds of thousands, according to on-the-ground Kyiv Post journalists.
The main core, numbering more than 200,000 at its height, was on Independence Square where an ongoing anti-government rally has been underway since Nov. 21. Organized to demand dignity and democratic rights, the rally today kicked off with a mass delivered by various clergy of different faiths. Then U.S. Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Chris Murphy (D-Connt.) told the crowd that America supports their cause for wanting to live in a European country that observes basic human rights and democratic principles. They were followed by opposition leaders Arseniy Yatseniuk, Vitali Klitschko and Oleh Tiahnybok who re-iterated their demands for President Viktor Yanukovych and his appointed government to resign.
Meanwhile, there were more than 20,000 protesters at the pro-government rally in Mariinsky Park. Organizers of the rally, the ruling Party of Regions, said they will stay there until “stability” is returned to the country.
