Celebrities sprinkle stardust on Ukraine's protest

(KIEV) - From George Clooney to Hayden Panettiere to a galaxy of homegrown stars, the protests in Ukraine have become a magnet for celebrities wanting to show their empathy with a popular uprising.

The opposition to President Viktor Yanukovych can already boast a celebrity of its own in the shape of the world boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, who heads the UDAR (Punch party) and is even seen as a potential future head of state.

His brother Wladimir, also a heavyweight champion, has supported Klitschko senior's campaign and visited the protests, bringing along his celebrity actress financee, the "Heroes" star Panettiere.

A sports idol in Ukraine who makes few appearances in his native country, Wladimir Klitschko created a sensation with his appearance on the streets last week.

Few of the crowd on the night of December 4 recognised German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, but on seeing Wladimir accompanying him people started chanting "Klitschko" and surrounded the boxer to take a photo or an autograph.

   Panettiere even spoke   from the stage to express her support of the

Ukrainians gathered on the protest hub of Independence Square, known locally as the Maidan.

Dressed in white boots and a knitted cap, Panettiere won an instant ovation for addressing people in Ukrainian "Dobryi vechir, druzi! (Good evening, friends!)".

Dwarfed by the giant Wladimir, she is known in Ukraine as "Thumbelina."

"I am proud of my motherland," Wladimir told the rally in Russian, as the diminutive Hayden echoed him in English: "I stand by you, I support your fight. Keep fighting, I love you all."

It was the celebrity power of the Klitschko brothers which prompted their friend and prominent Hollywood actor George Clooney to give his support in a YouTube video.

"You cannot have a democracy when you arrest and harm your peaceful protesters," he warned the Ukrainian authorities.

"All of you on the square in Kiev: when you look to the West, know that we are all looking at you with a great admiration."

"We wish you a government that you want."

'I could not stay at home'

Struggling with freezing temperatures on the streets of Kiev, thousands of protesters from different parts of Ukraine day and night feed off the energy from performances by their cultural idols.

Ruslana, a flamboyant singer and a winner of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, has nearly every night been urging protesters to continue to believe in themselves, repeatedly singing with the crowd the national anthem of Ukraine.

"Ruslana sleeps here. She permanently stays with us, comes to us to have a tea, talks with everybody," said Bogdan Kulyk, one of the residents of the self-established tent city on the square.

One of the masterminds of the Maidan protests, the small and fragile singer read out a rally resolution in late November, ending it by chanting "Revolution" just a few hours before the most brutal suppression of a protest in Ukraine's post-Soviet history.

Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, a leader of the rock band Okean Elzy (Elza's Ocean) and also a veteran of the 2004 pro-democracy Orange Revolution, is another "singing" symbol of the protests.

"I just could not stay home," he told reporters at 3:00 am Wednesday after early reports of a new crackdown on protesters in the capital.

His song "Get up! (Vstavay!)" became one of the anthems of the Orange Revolution. Nine years on, it is again rousing people to the barricades.

On Wednesday night when the authorities tried to disperse the protest in the most latest crackdown, Ruslana begged thousands of special troops "not to execute unlawful orders" and not to storm the Maidan.

She reminded protesters dozens of times in a monotone: "Peace and calm. Peace and calm. Peace and calm."