Dozens of protesters, including members of the Ukrainian military, gathered inside a presidential administrative building in Kiev on Tuesday to express frustration with the ongoing fighting in eastern Ukraine. The group, which has complained about a lack of supplies on the front lines and poor strategy, also demanded to speak with President Petro Poroshenko. Some attempted to make a statement on television, and one of the protesters live-streamed the incident online, which more than 10,000 watched.
The protest was generally peaceful, though the group remains at odds with the National Guard, which demanded that the demonstrators leave the building. Many of the protesters eventually moved outside. “There was no storming [of the building.] There’s also nobody being detained, and no one was injured during the action,” a Ukrainian Interior Ministry spokesman told RT.
UPDATE:#Tension grows between #protesters and riot #police in #Kievpic.twitter.com/RI05Io4xB1
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The protest was led by the All-Ukrainian Battalion Brotherhood, a group of volunteer soldiers and Euro Maidan activists who want Russia to stop meddling in Ukraine’s affairs. They were hoping to influence Poroshenko and defense ministers to change their combat plans against pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. According to the Itar-Tass news service, some protesters have asked Poroshenko to introduce martial law and would like the defense minister to resign, saying his tactics have been ineffective.
Some protesters attempted to call Poroshenko on the phone on Tuesday, but they were unable to reach him. The volunteer soldiers also broke out into song while in the building, mainly “Slava Ukrainiania,” a Ukrainian national hymn about the glory of the country.
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