New KFC opens in building at center of Ukraine revolution, spurs protests

The opening of a KFC restaurant in a building in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev that was at the center of the 2013-2014 revolution sparked has sparked protests, according to Agence France-Presse. 

The fast-food restaurant opened Wednesday, on the fifth anniversary of the revolution’s start. The KFC was opened in a building on Maidan Square that served as a makeshift hospital in the final days of the uprising, which toppled pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. 

{mosads}Far-right protesters demonstrated outside the restaurant on Wednesday. Six people were arrested, according to AFP.

The protests spread to social media, with one post reading, “How can you open your restaurant in a place where people died fighting for a free Ukraine?” 

“The people won’t tolerate such an outrage,” warned another.

KFC told AFP that the restaurant was opened by a franchise licensee, not the company itself.

The revolution began in November 2013, when Yanukovych suspended negotiations to bring the country closer to the European Union. He escaped to Russia early the next year and was removed from office after hundreds of protesters and 20 police officers were killed.