Thousands of people have gathered on the streets of Kyiv in protest at the Ukrainian government’s u-turn on a long-planned EU trade pact – and the talk of strengthening ties with Russia instead.

Jailed former prime minister Yuliya Tymoshenko and Opposition leader Vitali Kitschko have called for people to fill the streets until Sunday, November 24, the ninth anniversary of the Orange Revolution.

Taking part in the demonstration, Kiltschko told reporters: “Our main task is to get united because we are united by the desire to live in a better country. What do we have to do? Every one of us has to bring 20, 40, 100 people here. And then, if there are a lot of us, we can go and demand.”

Ukraine’s government defended the suspension of negotiations with the EU in a parliamentary session earlier, calling it a purely “economic” decision.