This archive report was first published on 8 December 2019.
On the eve of a crucial summit in Paris, thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets to protest against President Volodymyr Zelensky's planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Published on December 8, 2019, the rally, led by Zelensky's political opponents, featured placards with slogans such as 'No to capitulation' and 'Russian gas is a noose around our necks.'
The meeting, mediated by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, aims to revive stalled talks on the five-year conflict that has claimed over 13,000 lives.
Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Moscow of supporting separatists militarily, a claim Russia denies.
Former President Petro Poroshenko, who led Ukraine after Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, called for the protest, urging Zelensky not to 'believe Putin after all the bad things he did for Ukraine.'
Poroshenko also advised Zelensky to 'not be afraid of Putin!'
Among the protesters were far-right nationalists from the Svoboda party, who have expressed concerns that Zelensky may compromise Ukraine's sovereignty in exchange for cheap gas from Russia.
One demonstrator, 47-year-old farmer Anna Gnylytska, expressed her fears that Zelensky's meeting with Putin would lead to Ukraine's interests being betrayed.
