KYIV, March 9 (Reuters) – In a Kyiv square where recent popular uprisings have shattered Moscow’s ambitions in Ukraine, an orchestra gathered in front of a small crowd on Wednesday to play the national anthem as Russian forces advanced on the city.

The Kyiv-Classic Symphony Orchestra also performed an excerpt from Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, on which the European Union anthem is based – a nod to the Ukrainian government’s desire to get closer to the EU. Europe and to move away from the Russian orbit.

Dozens of people gathered to watch in Maidan’s central square, some waving Ukrainian flags. They clapped at the end of the national anthem and a woman shouted “To Ukraine!”

The anthem’s lyrics include the lines “Ukraine has not perished yet…our enemies will disappear like dew in the sun”.

Conductor Herman Makarenko told reporters the concert was a call for peace.

“We would like to support our President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who called, calls and will call on all governments in the world (to) stop the war in Ukraine.”

He said he managed to gather about 20 musicians for the show, instead of the 65–70 that normally make up the ensemble.

Tens of thousands of people, fearing isolation by enemy troops, have left the capital for the relative safety of western Ukraine.

Russian forces are advancing on Kiev from several directions, although heavy fighting on the outskirts has slowed their progress.

On Wednesday, air raid sirens sounded in Kiev and soldiers searched cars at checkpoints on major thoroughfares, a reminder that the city of 3.4 million people is on a war footing.

Thousands of civilians joined local defense units in support of the Ukrainian armed forces, and civilians in some Russian-held areas gathered in the streets to protest.

Moscow launched what it calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24 to destroy its neighbor’s military capabilities and eliminate what it calls dangerous nationalists in Kiev.

Ukraine and its allies call Russia’s actions a brutal invasion that has killed hundreds of civilians and forced millions to flee abroad.

Kyiv has largely been spared the heavy shelling that has devastated parts of other urban centers including Kharkiv, Mariupol and Sumy, but Ukrainian forces are strengthening defenses in anticipation of a full assault.

Wednesday’s concert took place in the vast square where thousands of Ukrainian protesters set up a tent city in 2013 and 2014 to oppose then-President Viktor Yanukovych’s shock decision to suspend talks with the EU and to restore ties with Moscow.

More than 100 protesters were killed in clashes with security forces, and in 2014 Yanukovych was overthrown and forced to flee the country.

A decade earlier, the square had been a major focal point for participants in the so-called “Orange Revolution”, which overturned a disputed election won by Yanukovych and led to pro-Western leader Viktor Yushchenko taking his place.

Written by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Alexandra Hudson

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