Hundreds of protesters converged on Yanukovych’s presidential estate just outside the capital city of Kiev on Sunday, in a demonstration demanding that the premier step down from office.
“We want our president to understand that he cannot feel calm in his house while other Ukrainians are struggling,” said Sergei Hajynov, a protest leader.
Authorities noted that a car convoy of protesters stretched some five-kilometers to the residence where police installed barriers, forcing some drivers to abandon their vehicles.
Riot police also set up barricades near the president's home, keeping protesters at a distance.
Main opposition party leaders, however, said they will keep frequenting the president’s residence until he steps down.
Similar protests were also held in front of the residences of Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko and Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka earlier this week.
Ukraine has been rocked with more than a month of anti-government protests after Yanukovych refrained from signing an association agreement with the European Union (EU) at the third Eastern Partnership Summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, late last month.
Instead, on December 17, Russia and Ukraine reached a strategic economic and trade agreement, under which Kiev is given significant discounts on imported Russian gas and billions of dollars in credit.
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