Around 4,500 people are taking part in a rally outside the building of the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, and another 1,500 are attending a rally near the National Bank of Ukraine.
The rallies under way in the center of Kyiv are peaceful.Verkhovna Rada deputies and public activists are addressing demonstrators from a stage near the parliament building.
Mikheil Saakashvili, leader of the Movement of New Forces and former head of the Odesa regional administration, has joined the rally on Kyiv's Constitution Square near the parliament building. He addressed the protesters and urged the Kyivites to join the action after the end of the working day. The protesters chanted: "Misha!"
The demonstrators' key demands are a change to the country's electoral system, creation of an independent anti-corruption court and abolition of parliamentarians' immunity from criminal prosecution.
Earlier Andriy Kryschenko, chief of the Ukrainian National Police branch for Kyiv said to the reporters that the situation is quiet. "We are observing approximately 4,500 people near the Verkhovna Rada and another 1,500 near the building of Ukraine's National Bank.There is a 3,500-strong police presence in the area.Police are ready to respond appropriately to any possible deterioration of the situation", Kryschenko said.
