Maidan activists hold peaceful march to Ukrainian parliament HQ
KYIV. Feb 18 (Interfax) - Several thousand protesters have left Independence Square in the center of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and are heading toward the parliament building.
The head of the far-right opposition party Svoboda (Freedom), Oleh Tyahnybok, and MPs from Svoboda and other opposition parties - Batkivshchyna and UDAR - are leading the protesters, an Interfax correspondent said.
Maidan self-defense unit members wearing helmets and holding shields and wielding sticks are following them.
Two minibuses carrying sound magnifiers are moving between the group of MPs and the other protesters.
At the moment, the protesters are standing on Institutskaya Street near the Ukrainian National Bank's building. They are holding Ukrainian flags and symbols of the Batkivshchyna, Svoboda and UDAR parties.
Svoboda parliamentarian Ihor Shvaika addressed the protesters ahead of the march and called for discipline.
The procession, named "A Peaceful Offensive", was declared by the opposition in order to encourage the country's parliament to vote in favor of a return to the 2004 constitution.
