epa03000935 General view of the new stadium which was built for EURO 2012, before friendly soccer match Ukraine vs Germany in Kiev, Ukraine, 11 November 2011. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02961765 Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko (C) speaks to policemen at the City districts court in Kiev, Ukraine, 11 October 2011. Yulia Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of power, as her supporters clashed in the streets of the capital Kiev with police. Tymoshenko had exceeded her authority as prime minister to approve a natural gas import deal with Russia in 2009, and caused some 187 million US dollars in losses to taxpayers, Judge Rodion Kireyev ruled. Tymoshenko immediately announced she would appeal the verdict. Around five thousand Tymoshenko supporters who had reportedly gathered around Kiev's central Perchersk city district court attempted several times to push their way into the court building, or to block traffic on Kiev's main street Khreschatyk. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02926526 Protesters clash with police in front of Ukrainian parliament in Kiev, Ukraine, 20 September 2011. More than 10,000 people, among them Afghanistan war veterans, demonstrated in the Ukrainian capital Kiev on 20 September to protest proposed benefit cuts, with some of the marchers attempting to break police cordons around the national parliament building. Veterans of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power accident also participated in the street protests. Like Afghanistan war veterans, Ukraine's Chernobyl victims face reduced pensions and medical payments if parliament passes a cost-cutting bill currently under debate. Protesters shouted ‘Shame’ along with insults, as police struggled to keep demonstrators from overturning barriers. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials have said cash-strapped Ukraine must reduce numbers of people receiving social payments and the size of those payments, to obtain further IMF financing. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02842880 Oleh Husyev (L) of Dynamo fights for the ball with Sergey Kislyak (R) of Rubin during their UEFA Champions League, third qualifying round, 1st leg soccer match of Ukrainian FC Dynamo Kiev and FC Rubin Kazan of Russia in Kiev, Ukraine, 26 July 2011. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02811671 Liquidators of Chernobyl nuclear accident hide from heavy rain during their protest in front of presidential office in Kiev, Ukraine, 6 July 2011. The Chernobyl veterans gathered to protest the cuts in their benefits. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02810267 An Ukrainian policeman tries to catch members of the Ukrainian female political activist group FEMEN during their topless protest in front of Parliament building in Kiev, Ukraine 05 July 2011. FEMEN activists protest against the pension reform bill, which will be voted on in Ukrainian Parliament 05 July. The Ukrainian pension reform provides to raise the retirement age for women by five years. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02780999 A view of the lunar eclipse above the bridge across the Dnieper River in Kiev, Ukraine, 15 June 2011. The lunar eclipse lasted for 100 minutes surpassing the previous eclipse in July 2000. A lunar eclipse comes when the sun, Earth and moon line up and Earth's shadow falls on the moon. It has been reported that this lunar eclipse will be the longest and darkest of this century. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02393539 A model wears a creation by Ukrainian designer Aleksey Zalevskiy during the Ready-to-Wear Ukrainian fashion week in Kiev, Ukraine, 14 October 2010. The fashion event runs from 14 to 19 October. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02383673 Ukrainian Ruslan Rotan (R) fights for the ball with Canda's Olivier Occean during their friendly soccer match at the Dynamo Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine, 08 October 2010. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02693954 An interior view of a former kindergarten in the abandoned town of Pripyat, near the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine, 18 April 2011. One of two reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear power station exploded during a power test in 1986. 47,000 people of the city of Pripyat were evacuated after the explosion on 26 April 1986. Ukrainians will mark the 25th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear power accident on 26 April 2011. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02316276 Ostriches are seen at the ostrich farm in Yasnogorodka village, some 35 kilometers from capital Kiev, Ukraine, 04 September 2010. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa01948142 Ukrainians light candles near the Holodomor monument at the mourning ceremony in Kiev, Ukraine, 28 November 2009. Ukrainians marked a day of memory for the victims of the Holodomor in 1932-1933. The Holodomor was the famine of 1932–1933 in the Ukrainian SSR during which millions of people starved to death. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02638864 A model presents a creation by Ukrainian designer Lilia Litkovskaya during the Ukrainian Fashion Week 2011 in Kiev, Ukraine, 17 March 2011. The Ukrainian Fashion Week 2011 runs from 16 March until 21 March 2011. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02214662 A Zebra and Impala (African antelope) are seen at game reserve, 60 Km far from the host city of Port Elizabeth, 21 June 2010. Wild animals attracts thousands of adventure soccer fans from around the world, who have the unique opportunity to see these creatures in their natural environment. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02193713 South African children are playing soccer on the open field in the Walmer shantyand of Port Elizabeth, not far from the Nelson Mandela Bay Soccer Stadium, 09 June 2010. The FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup is due to kick off on June 11. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

epa02076995 A model displays an outfit from the pret-a-porter collection of Ukrainian designer Aleksey Zalevskiy during the Ukrainian Fashion Week in Kiev, Ukraine, 12 March 2010. The fashion event runs from 11 to 16 March. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO