Bogdan Reveals Pay Rates for Participation in the "Steinmeier Maidan". Protesters Demand His Resignation

Participants of the veche gave the authorities until October 14.

Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Bohdan published screenshots of messages from a Telegram channel discussing payments to participants of the veche against the 'Steinmeier formula' taking place today in Kyiv.

"Soon someone very frightened will hand out everything they stole to the people", — commented Bohdan on the screenshots, which show that the organizers pay participants of the veche 100 UAH per hour, plus a 10 UAH bonus for posters and invited people.

The organizers also allegedly developed instructions for participants on how to communicate with the media: stand with flags, shout slogans, and speak Ukrainian. According to reports, participants could also receive a ready-made script to deliver in front of the cameras of Pryamyi Kanal.

In addition, protest participants should endorse the activities of Ukraine's fifth president Petro Poroshenko and his party European Solidarity, and speak out against the 'Steinmeier formula', capitulation, the Servant of the People party and the current head of state Volodymyr Zelensky.

Following Andriy Bohdan's publication, participants of the 'Stop Capitulation' protest under the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv began demanding the resignation of the head of the Presidential Office and announced protests against Bohdan next week.

"This man, with posts like these, is now provoking civil conflict. He is provoking us into conflict. This man is now carrying out unknown tasks by making such statements", — protesters said.

They accused Bohdan of having "Portnov sitting next to him (lawyer Andriy Portnov, who files lawsuits against Petro Poroshenko, — ed.), who is already manually running the courts and the SBI".

"For us this is a matter of principle. If Zelensky said in his video that he hears us, let him listen. And this is not some ephemeral formula, but a specific name and a specific demand. By October 14 we expect a clear statement on the inadmissibility of capitulation, support for all positions expressed in the resolution of our veche, as well as Bohdan's resignation", — protest participants said.

On October 14 they promised to return to the streets of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

On October 1, participants of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine signed a document with the 'Steinmeier formula'.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky  spoke about the formula and said that local elections in Donbas may take place only under Ukrainian legislation, only after the withdrawal of troops, and on condition that Ukraine restores control over the state border.

In the parliamentary faction and the European Solidarity party, they called the 'Steinmeier formula' a Kremlin plan and said that they do not intend to come to terms with it.

Separatist leaders in occupied Donbas said that Ukraine will not get control over the border, and that they will independently determine election dates in the regions not controlled by Ukrainian authorities.

President Zelensky published a video address, in which he explained that the 'Steinmeier formula' is needed for a meeting in the 'Normandy Format'.

Authorities of Kropyvnytskyi and several other Ukrainian cities spoke out against the 'Steinmeier formula'. 

The Ukrainian film director and former Kremlin prisoner Oleg Sentsov also commented on the 'Steinmeier formula'. 

According to a poll, two-thirds of Ukraine's residents cannot assess the peace initiative for settling the military conflict in Donbas known as the 'Steinmeier formula'.