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Topless Activist Torches Teddy Bears In Protest Against Ukraine's Poroshenko

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Her bare chest and back were painted with the words "sweets or impeachment," a political twist on the Halloween plea of "trick or treat."
Her bare chest and back were painted with the words "sweets or impeachment," a political twist on the Halloween plea of "trick or treat."

A topless activist from the protest group Femen set fire to several large toy bears outside a Kyiv shop selling candy made by a confectionery company owned by President Petro Poroshenko.

Wearing skeleton face paint and a traditional Ukrainian headdress for the Halloween prank, the woman doused three teddy bears with flammable liquid and set them on fire on October 31.

Her bare chest and back were painted with the words "sweets or impeachment," a political twist on the Halloween plea of "trick or treat."

The activist left the area afterward and did not appeared to have been confronted or detained.

Femen later said on its website that the protest was "dedicated to the greediness of the President of Ukraine, who, even under the fear of political death, is not ready to share his sweets."

Roshen, Ukraine's leading confectionary company -- with factories across the country, as well as in Lithuania, Hungary, and Russia -- is owned and controlled by Poroshenko. Its name derives from his last name.

Critics have called on Poroshenko to give up ties with Roshen, pointing to his ownership as an example of what they say are unseemly ties between government and business.

Poroshenko promised to sell Roshen when he was running for president in 2014. But the Panama Papers leaks in 2016 indicated that he instead transferred assets to an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Femen is known for topless protests focusing on political, environmental, and other issues.

The October 31 stunt came amid protests by government opponents who have set up a tent camp outside parliament.

They have been demonstrating since October 17, demanding that Poroshenko step up anti-corruption reforms or resign.

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