An estimated 70,000 pro-Western Ukrainians thronged the heart of Kiev on Sunday vowing never to give up their drive to oust President Viktor Yanukovych for his alliance with old master Russia.
Wearing blue and yellow ribbons - the colours of both Ukraine and the European Union - the crowd sreceived a religious blessing before opposition leaders took to a podium on Independence Square in a bid to ratchet up pressure on Yanukovych to appoint a new pro-Western government.
“None of the kidnappings and tortures have yielded any results,” said Igor Lutsenko, who was grabbed by assailants during deadly unrest in January and beaten up at the same time as another activist who was later found dead.
Speaking from Lithuania where he is being treated after being tortured, Dmytro Bulatov, another activist, said he had no intention of giving up.
“We will go further,” he said by phone in a conversation broadcast over a loudspeaker to the crowds.