Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko has gone on hunger strike in jail to show support for thousands of protesters who want close ties with Europe.
The co-leader of the pro-democracy Orange Revolution in 2004 announced her decision in a letter read to 20,000 supporters who gathered in central Kiev.
Demonstrations have been taking place this week against President Viktor Yanukovych's shock move to scrap a key trade pact with the European Union.
Some of the protests have turned violent, with dozens of activists clashing with riot police.
Protesters threw traffic cones and rocks at officers who fired tear gas.
A flag with an image of Tymoshenko during the demonstrations Demonstrators set up two dozen tents in the capital where they spent the night to make sure police did not close off the square where the largest protests were being held.
The Orange Revolution protests nine years ago halted the president's first attempt at election amid rigging allegations.
In her letter, former prime minister Ms Tymoshenko said: "I am announcing an indefinite hunger strike demanding that Yanukovych sign an association and free trade agreement with the EU.
"And if Yanukovych does not sign our agreement with the EU on November 29, wipe him off the face of Ukraine through peaceful and constitutional means."
She was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2011 - shortly after she lost to Mr Yanukovych in a presidential election.
Some protests in Kiev have turned violent She was jailed on abuse of power charges that she and the West say were politically motivated.
The latest crisis in the former Soviet state was sparked by the government's abrupt decision to scrap the planned signing of a historic deal with the EU at a two-day summit in Vilnius, Lithuania starting on Thursday.
The U-turn came shortly after Mr Yanukovych held secret talks in Russia with President Vladimir Putin meant to address economic sanctions that Moscow planned to slap on Kiev if it signed the EU pact.
These included a threat to impose strict conditions on Russian natural gas deliveries on which Ukraine depends, especially in the winter months.
Mr Yanukovych is still scheduled to travel to Vilnius for the Eastern Partnership summit and some EU leaders appeared to hold out hope that Kiev may yet change its mind.
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