About 1,000 supporters of ex-Georgian leader and former Governor of Ukraine’s Odessa Mikheil Saakashvili, who now leads the Ukrainian oppositions’ Movement of New Forces, are marching across central Kiev demanding change of power in the country.

Axar.az reports citing TASS.

"We are resuming our protests," the rally’s participant said. "We see clearly that they [authorities] cannot be trusted, and we are sure the regime will not make it to spring." The protesters chant calls for resignations and for legal responsibility. They call for impeachment of President Pyotr Poroshenko, for new parliament, where "300 independent Spartans-deputies," whose term would be one year - to adopt laws to change the power system in the country. The third demand is a new government, which will implement the program dubbed "70 Days of New Power."

On December 19, 2017, Saakashvili announced a New Year break in marches for impeachment, which he had launched on December 3, 2017.

On January 10, Saakashvili announced he was beginning trips across Ukraine to find new candidates for government positions "who will rule the country by other means, who won’t steal money and destroy Ukraine, but who will build it." He stressed that new people are required for "a peaceful change of power in Ukraine."

Saakashvili, who earlier served as Georgia’s president, was granted Ukrainian citizenship in May 2015 and appointed to the position of the Odessa Region’s governor. On July 26, 2017, Poroshenko stripped him of his Ukrainian citizenship, while Saakashvili had stepped down as governor several days before that.

In September 2017, Saakashvili, backed by a group of supporters, managed to enter Ukraine but was charged with illegal border crossing. Right after that, he applied to the Ukrainian State Migration Service for an asylum. However, the Migration Service rejected his appeal, while Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko announced there were no reasons why Kiev cannot extradite Saakashvili to Georgia, where he was facing several criminal charges. Saakashvili filed an appeal against the Migration Service’s decision. The Ukrainian Supreme Court’s Cassation Administrative Court addressed that appeal in late January.