Thousands of Ukrainians stopped traffic and chanted outside the country's government building on Wednesday, demanding the "criminal" authorities return stolen money to the people or stand down.
In a sea of orange flags, balloons and tents bearing the name of Ukraine's main opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, about 9,000 protesters chanted for President Leonid Kuchma to quit along with his "bandit" government.
"It is shameful to live in a country with criminal leaders, it is shameful to live in a country where the authorities are at the top of the lists of the richest people in Europe and then they say there is no money," Yushchenko said to a roaring crowd, which spilled across and down a main road outside government.
"If the government does not hear our demands...we will continue this action," Yushchenko said, ordering the government to return what he said was the 10 billion hryvnias ($1.8 billion) which was unaccounted for in last year's budget.
In one of Ukraine's biggest demonstrations since tens of thousands took to the streets in 2001 to oust Kuchma, protesters sat on grass verges opposite the government and pensioners held banners demanding higher pensions.
Protesters then carried fur hats and a briefcase to the monolithic white Soviet building's front entrance - fur hats to symbolise the theft of what are for most Ukrainians their most expensive possessions. The briefcase carried their demands.
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