Although demonstrations are still underway on Kyiv's Independence Square and the Opposition continues its siege of the presidential and Cabinet headquarters, supporters of the Opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko have been keeping a low profile today.
There are fewer protesters in the city now-snow has given way to rain, and streams of rainwater are coming down the hills onto Kreshchatik. The Opposition's tent camp has got soaked through and the wet firewood sizzles and smokes.
"We will spend the day in trenches, staying on the base we have fought back from the authorities," MP Yuri Lutsenko, an Opposition leader, told gathering on Independence Square.
The government quarters remain encircled by Opposition supporters, and even garbage collectors are not allowed in or out now. Three officers tried in vain to persuade two guardswomen, wearing orange bands, to let a garbage truck in. "We won't tolerate any provocation," the guardswomen said firmly in reply.
The Opposition is waiting for the Supreme Court to hand down a decision on the disputed vote. The Court is still in session, considering the election fraud evidence produced by the Yushchenko team.
A rather small group of Opposition supporters, most of them from the provinces, have spent the day protesting outside the Supreme Court building. They keep chanting slogans, such as "There is justice!"
An onlooker might think there are almost no locals left in downtown Kiev by now-visitors have trouble finding anyone who could provide them with adequate directions.
The Opposition announced today that the agreements the two candidates had reached Wednesday at the negotiating table, alongside international mediators, could not be recognized as valid without the participation of one more side-the crowd of supporters on Independence Square.
"We won't let them drag their feet," Opposition leader Yulia Timoshenko said at a press conference, urging the authorities to act, and quick.
The Opposition is in a hurry as the weather is getting increasingly uncomfortable for street protesters.
