Ukrainians Rally against Peace Plan in Kiev

Thousands of Ukrainians are demanding the roll back of a peace plan for the country’s rebel-held east, known as the Steinmeier formula.

Protesters shouted ‘shame!’ and ‘no to capitulation’ as well as chants targeting Russia’s President Putin.

Envoys from Moscow and Kiev have already agreed on a schedule under which elections will be held in the breakaway regions and a new law will be passed granting them special status. They had met in Belarusian capital Minsk.

The agreement comes as new President Volodymyr Zelenskiy targets better relations with Russia. He reiterated that Ukraine wants a cease-fire, a withdrawal of Russian-backed fighters and control of its border back before ballots are cast in accordance with the peace plan.

More than 13,000 people have been killed in the more than five-year-old conflict in east Ukraine between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces.