A Ukrainian nationalist carries a portrait of Stepan Bandera, founder of the Ukrainian rebel army that fought against the Soviet regime, during a rally in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, late Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2014. The rally was organized on the occasion of Bandera's birth anniversary.(AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (The Associated Press)
KIEV, Ukraine – About 15,000 people have taken part in a torch-lit march across Ukraine's capital Kiev to commemorate their leader Stepan Bandera.
Bandera is a deeply divisive figure in Ukraine, glorified by many in Western Ukraine as a freedom fighter and dismissed by millions in Eastern and Southeastern Ukraine as a traitor in the Soviet Union's struggle against the occupying German army.
Carrying torches, the nationalists marched Wednesday night to mark his 105th birthday.
Kiev has been the scene of massive pro-European protests for more than a month, triggered by President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to ditch a key deal with the European Union in favor of building stronger ties with Russia.
The nationalists are also pro-Europe, but the march was separate to the protest encampment in central Kiev.
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