200,000 Anti-Government Protesters Converge On Central Square Of Kiev Sunday Dec 15,2013

About 200,000 anti-government protesters converged on the central square of Ukraine's capital Sunday Dec 15,2013 in a dramatic show of morale after nearly four weeks of daily protests

Anti-government protesters have set up an extensive tent camp there and erected barricades of snow hardened with freezing water and studded with scrap wood and other junk.

U.S. Sens. John McCain and Chris Murphy joined the anti-government demonstration to express support for them and their European ambitions, threatening sanctions against the government of President Viktor Yanukovych if authorities use more violence to disperse the protests.

Note
The protests began Nov. 21,2013 after President Yanukovych announced he was backing away from signing a long-awaited agreement to deepen trade and political ties with the EU and instead focus on Russia

Yanukovych backed off the agreement on the grounds that the EU was not providing adequate compensation to his economically struggling nation for potential trades losses with Russia

In the face of the protests, which present a serious challenge to Yanukovych's leadership, Ukrainian officials this week renewed talks with the EU agreement and promised that they would sign the deal once some issues are worked out