Lower turnout, but 20,000 still protest in Kiev

About 20,000 people protested in Ukraine’s capital yesterday, maintaining more than a month of rallies opposing the government’s decision to shelve a key deal with the EU.

The turnout was much lower than at previous rallies, which had attracted hundreds of thousands of people.

As it has before, yesterday’s rally opened with speeches by the country’s spiritual leaders, including Christian priests, a rabbi, and a mufti who called for a national unity and stressed the protesters’ right to have the government they want.