Some 2,000 people gathered in central Kiev on Sunday to support a call by ex regional governor Mikheil Saakashvili - also a former president of Georgia - to rise up against the Ukrainian government.
Known for pro-Western reforms in his native Georgia, Saakashvili, who quit as governor of Ukraine's Odessa region this month, was one of the foreign technocrats appointed to top government positions to put the country on a pro-European path. But Saakashvili, who was head of state of Georgia from 2004 to 2013, resigned because he was being held back in his efforts to fight corruption among high-ranking officials.
Protestors brandishing flags of Ukraine, Georgia and the European Union chanted "Glory to Ukraine!" and "Mikheil!" as Saakashvili addressed the crowd, an AFP reporter saw at the scene.