Near the monument to Taras Shevchenko in Kyiv several hundreds of Svoboda (Freedom) party supporters are holding an action on the occasion of the anniversary of the UPA's founding. The participants of the rally are holding enormous portrait of Stepan Bandera and singing patriotic songs. The nationalists have been just joined by supporters of Yulia Tymoshenko party, who are holding portraits of their leader, ForUm correspondent reports.
At the same time, hundreds of communists gathered near the monument to Lenin, holding posters "Fascism won't work" and "Stop modern Nazis".
About hundred of law enforcement representatives are following the rallies, hoping no accidents happen between the opponents.
According to the police statement, on October 14, the anniversary of the UPA's founding, up to 30,000 Ukrainians - nationalists and communists - are expected to march in Kiev in two opposing rallies for and against the UPA.
The Ukrainian nationalist movement also demands that President Viktor Yanukovych approve construction of monuments to Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa and UPA leaders Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych in Kiev.
They also want October 14 to be declared a national holiday - The Defender of the Fatherland's Day. The holiday's name and origin are a clear reference to a national holiday in Russia, which bears the same name and marks the first mass draft into the Red Army.
Ukrainian society is deeply divided over the wartime role of the country's nationalists, namely the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and its militant wing, the UPA. One part, mostly residents of the eastern regions bordering Russia, believe UPA fighters were traitors who killed Soviet soldiers, while another, mainly residents of western Ukraine, regard them as patriots who fought for an independent Ukraine.
At the same time, hundreds of communists gathered near the monument to Lenin, holding posters "Fascism won't work" and "Stop modern Nazis".
About hundred of law enforcement representatives are following the rallies, hoping no accidents happen between the opponents.
According to the police statement, on October 14, the anniversary of the UPA's founding, up to 30,000 Ukrainians - nationalists and communists - are expected to march in Kiev in two opposing rallies for and against the UPA.
The Ukrainian nationalist movement also demands that President Viktor Yanukovych approve construction of monuments to Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa and UPA leaders Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych in Kiev.
They also want October 14 to be declared a national holiday - The Defender of the Fatherland's Day. The holiday's name and origin are a clear reference to a national holiday in Russia, which bears the same name and marks the first mass draft into the Red Army.
Ukrainian society is deeply divided over the wartime role of the country's nationalists, namely the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and its militant wing, the UPA. One part, mostly residents of the eastern regions bordering Russia, believe UPA fighters were traitors who killed Soviet soldiers, while another, mainly residents of western Ukraine, regard them as patriots who fought for an independent Ukraine.
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