KIEV
Thousands of Ukrainians on Friday attended an anniversary ceremony held to remember the victims of the 2014 Maidan protests at Kiev's Independence Square.
Participants marched at Gruchevski and Institutskaya streets where protesters were killed in clashes with government forces and by sniper fire.
President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, a number of other ministers and some foreign officials attended the ceremony to mark the anniversary.
The demonstrations brought an end to the rule of Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovich, who fled to Russia on Feb. 22, 2014 amid protests, which arose after he refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union and agreed to join Russia's Customs Union.
"The demonstrators did not just fight against Yanukovich's puppet regime, but have also struggled for Ukraine's Europe future," Poroshenko said during a speech at the ceremony. "For us, this war is a struggle for our own soil and justice. The entire world knows this and stands with Ukraine."
Poroshenko said the victims' courage has become a lesson for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians.
Following Poroshenko's speech, Yatsenyuk and other officials lighted candles in memory of the victims and prayed for them.
Georgia's ex-president Mikhail Saakashvili also attended the ceremony.
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