Ukrainian protesters wave an E.U. flag as hundreds gather for an opposition rally in Mykhayllivska Square in Kiev after police dispersed protesters in Independence Square on Nov. 30, 2013
Protesters are swarming the streets of Ukraine’s capital city of Kiev after police aggressively broke up an earlier demonstration using stun guns, batons and tear gas.
After riot police cracked down on a crowd in Independence Square Saturday, where an estimated 10,000 people gathered to rally against President Viktor Yanukovich’s refusal to sign a free-trade agreement with the European Union, anti-government protests grew, The New York Times reports.
The square has been the backdrop to weeklong protests over Yanukovich’s decision to not sign an agreement at the European Union summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. The president said upgrading Ukraine’s economy to EU standards is too costly, and that he is under pressure from Russia to put off signing.