A rally in support of presidential candidate incumbent Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is taking place in Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) in downtown Kyiv on Friday.

About 1,500 people have gathered on the square and traffic on Khreschatyk Street has been partially blocked, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported.

Organizers have installed a stage with Poroshenko's election slogan "We Are Going Our Own Way. Petro Poroshenko." Many of the participants in the rally are carrying state flags.

Ada Rohovtseva, Dmytro Pavlychko, Culture Minister Yevhen Nyschuk, and Andriy Parubiy spoke from the stage. Poroshenko himself arrived at the country's main square, where he is expected to make a speech.

Additionally, the procession, which began in Mykhailivska Square, is expected to arrive on Maidan.