Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have marched through the capital Kiev in defiance of a government ban, in protest at President Viktor Yankovych's failure to sign a deal with Brussels.
The rally is the biggest seen in the Ukraine since the Orange Revolution The opposition rally, the biggest seen in the Ukraine since the pro-democracy Orange Revolution nine years ago, follows a violent police crackdown against protesters, with the use of stun grenades and batons.
Some demonstrators broke into Kiev's city hall and were occupying at least part of the building, while others used a digger to try to break through police lines at the presidential headquarters.
Police used tear gas to force back the crowd, and the interior minister warned that security forces would respond to any disorder.
People are angry after the president back-tracked on a deal with the EU Protests have been gaining strength since Mr Yankovych back-tracked on a landmark agreement which would have established closer ties between the Ukraine and the European Union.
He justified the decision by saying that Ukraine could not afford to break trade ties with Russia.
Meanwhile, opposition leaders have continued to call for the president's resignation, including heavyweight boxing champion turned politician Vitaly Klitschko.
Heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko is a leading critic A likely challenger for the presidency in 2015, Mr Klitscko said the government had "stolen" Ukraine's dream of European integration.
He told cheering crowds in Kiev's Independence Square: "If this government does not want to fulfill the will of the people, then there will be no such government, there will be no such president.
"There will be a new government and a new president."
Another opposition leader, Yarseniy Yatsenuyk, said: "I fully realise that as President Yanukovych rejected to sign an association agreement (with the EU), he has a plan B, and this plan B is not actually written by President Yanukovych.
"The author of this plan is (Russian) President Putin, and in order to reinstate the Soviet empire they will do everything."
Some protesters tried to use a digger to break through police lines In an attempt to defuse tensions ahead of the rally, Mr Yanukovich issued a statement pledging he would "do everything in my power to accelerate the process of moving Ukraine closer to the European Union".
But he also repeated the need to balance this with the country's own national interests.
And Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said in a TV interview that Mr Yanukovich would travel to Moscow to work on a "roadmap" for new economic cooperation.
Sunday's rally also marked the anniversary of a 1991 referendum, which ushered in Ukraine's independence from the then-crumbling Soviet Union.
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