On 14 December the Party of Regions announced that they intended to hold a rally on European Square under the banner "Let's Save Ukraine".[24][26] The move to create a second rally in the city by officials was condemned by former president Leonid Kravchuk.[27] According to party officials, 20,000 were expected to come from Donetsk and 10,000 from Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.[24] Many others were expected to arrive from the Crimea, Odessa Oblast, and a number of other regions.[4] In the lead up to the rally, it was reported on 12 December that "thousands" of residents from Dnipropetrovsk (mostly government employees, students of technical schools, and athletes) were traveling to Kiev to join in the pro-government rallies. Those interviewed said they were doing so reluctantly, and only for two days, at a rate of UAH₴400–500 a day.[29][30] It was also reported that state employees were coerced to join the group under threat of dismissal.[31] On the day of the rally, UDAR MP Roman Chereha accused officials of bringing in children from shelters, promising them food and shelter.[8] On 13 December, the Donetsk regional organisation of The Party of Regions said that people wishing to go to Kiev would be provided food rations and would be transported on a specially commissioned train, paid for by the party.[33] In Odessa, several trains carrying roughly 3,000 departed the city carrying students and teachers to participate in the pro-government rally; students, some from the Odessa Law Academy, admitted they would receive school credit for attending; others would receive financial compensation.[34] It was similarly reported in Luhansk that over 1,000 had departed via rail, and those attending were largely coal miners from the region. Luhansk mayor Sergei Kravchenko in an address stated that over 1,500 residents would support the government at the rally.[35] Meanwhile, in Zaporizhia, it was reported that a train packed with 1,600 "athletic men and workers of state enterprises and companies" was departing to Kiev.