About 1,000 activists marched in a torchlight procession in Kyiv to celebrate the 107th anniversary of Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) leader Stepan Bandera's birth on Friday, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported from the scene.

The activists marched from a monument to Taras Shevchenko along Shevchenko Boulevard and Khreshchatyk Street to Independence Square, where they held a rally.

The participants carried state flags of Ukraine, flags of the Svoboda association and the Right Sector movement, banners with Bandera's pictures, and about 100 torches. Shevchenko Boulevard was closed to traffic during the event. A lot of people watched the procession from sidewalks.

Svoboda association leaders spoke to the participants near the stele on Independence Square, calling on the Ukrainian people to continue the fight for independence.

They also urged their supporters to oppose political reprisals, which, as they claimed, are present in Ukraine now.

The participants also sang the national anthem of Ukraine in conclusion of the rally.

The procession and the rally passed without incidents. Numerous law enforcement and security officials were engaged in maintaining public order.

Temperature in Kyiv was minus 13 degrees Celsius on Friday, and it was not snowing.