At the moment, there are about 200 demonstrators who are demanding a ‘major political reform’ near the Verkhovna Rada building.
“The situation is under control. There is a sufficient number of policemen and the National Guard military personnel to ensure the safety of citizens and the smooth work of the state institutions,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Interior says.
On Tuesday, thousands of people gathered for an open-ended rally on Hrushevskoho Street and near the Verkhovna Rada building in Kyiv. The protesters demanded the abolition of parliamentary immunity, the establishment of a special anti-corruption court, and amendments to election laws.
The rally was organised by supporters of Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s ex-president and former head of Odessa region, as well as political parties Batkyvshchyna, Svoboda, Samopomoch, Pravy Sektor and others. There were clashes between protesters and the Kyiv police, there were injured persons on the both side. Saakashvili urged activists not to leave the place; some people stayed, pitched up tents and spent the night near the Verkhovna Rada.
Mikheil Saakashvili also called on people to demand the resignation of the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
On Wednesday, Head of the National Police Serhiy Kniazev during a briefing, answering the questions of journalists, said that the police would not demolish the tents.
“I don’t care how many tents there are. If they have been set up, then this is the will of people,” the NewsOne TV channel quoted Kniazev as saying.
The situation there was calm on Wednesday morning, Interfax-Ukraine reports. A field kitchen has been placed near the tents on Hrushevskoho Street. Groups of demonstrators are also warming themselves near portable heaters.
ІІ, belsat.eu, following Interfax Ukraine, photo by Украінская праўда
