About 2,000 veterans of the Chernobyl cleanup operation have rallied in Ukraine's capital to protest cuts in benefits and pensions.
Sunday's protest in Kiev comes just days ahead of the 25th anniversary of the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, as international attention is once again focused on the disaster that sent clouds of radiation over much of Europe.
Protesters expressed their anger at the government over drastically reduced pensions and the rising cost of health care, with more cutbacks to come.
President Viktor Yanukovych's government says it simply does not have the money to meet promises made to the tens of thousands of workers who were sent in to clean up the radioactive site after the nuclear explosion on April 26, 1986. - Sapa-AP