Ukraine’s former PM Yulia Tymoshenko, who has a back injury, addressed crowds from a wheelchair after being freed from detention.
“Until you finish this job… nobody has the right to leave,” she said.
Her speech came at the end of a dramatic day that saw President Viktor Yanukovych removed by the parliament and fleeing Kiev, but refusing to stand down.
Yulia Tymoshenko broke down in tears as she told cheering supporters late on Saturday: “You are heroes.
“Because nobody could… do what you have done.”
“We’ve eliminated this cancer, this tumor,” she said.
However, while Yulia Tymoshenko was hailed by many in the audience, she does not enjoy universal support among the opposition.
Before she went into prison in 2011, Yulia Tymoshenko’s popularity ratings were dropping and many Ukrainians blame her in part for the chaos of the post-Orange Revolution years, or see her as a member of Ukraine’s corrupt elite.
Dozens of people walked away in disgust when she appeared on the stage in Independence Square.
A vote by parliament on Friday paved the way for Yulia Tymoshenko’s release.
KnIaffZ4P00Three Indian nationals have been arrested and charged over the killing of Sikh separatist leader…
President Joe Biden has urged pro-Palestinian protesters on university campuses to uphold the rule of…
Blue Ivy Carter has joined the voice cast of The Lion King prequel Mufasa: The…
At least five people, including a four-month-old baby, have been killed after dozens of tornadoes…
Harvey Weinstein has been hospitalized just days after his 2020 rape conviction in New York…
Hamas has published a video showing the first proof of life of US and Israeli…