In the capital Kyiv, Ukrainians mark 10 years since the historic pro-democracy protests on Maidan square known as the Revolution of Dignity in 2013, with many returning to the square to pay their respects to those killed in the unrest. The pro-European protest movement -- in which around 100 civilians died in violent clashes with security forces in the capital -- ultimately led to the ouster of Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych. "If they had succeeded in cleansing us then, Ukraine would no longer exist. We would have become Belarus number two," Igor Rudnyk, who took part in the protests tells AFP, calling the Maidan protests "the first battle of the Russia-Ukraine war." IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES