Ukrainian protesters demand release of former PM Tymoshenko

A couple of thousand demonstrators rallied Wednesday outside the Ukrainian government building to call for the release of jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, ABC News reported. The demonstrations came as thousands of people took into streets in central Kiev for a fifth straight day to protest the Ukrainian government's decision not to sign an agreement with the European Union but to restore ties with Russia instead. The EU had made the release of Tymoshenko, the political rival of President Viktor Yanukovych, a condition for signing the association agreement at a summit that begins Thursday in Vilnius, Lithuania. Yanukovych still plans to attend the EU summit. About 5,000 people were on Independence Square, listening to music and singing, several hours before the evening's demonstration was scheduled to start. Tuesday night's protests drew an estimated 7,000 people. The freeing of Tymoshenko "would be a sign, a symbol, that Ukraine is truly ready for change and is ready to become part of Europe," said Igor Nesterovich, 42, who had come to the capital from the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk to take part in the protests. Yanukovych's government has explained its decision to back away from efforts to integrate with the EU by saying that Ukraine could not afford to sacrifice trade with Russia. As Kiev intensified talks with Brussels in recent months, Russia imposed punishing trade sanctions on Ukraine.