Some 40,000 people on Sunday rallied at the latest protest in Ukraine against the government's rejection of a pact with the European Union, a turnout that was down sharply on previous weeks.

The rally on Independence Square in the capital Kiev was the fifth in a series of regular Sunday protests against the U-turn by the government in November, when it decided not to sign the Association Agreement for closer ties with the EU.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych on Sunday suspended his deputy security council chief and Kiev's mayor after prosecutors alleged they pressured police into using force against pro-EU protesters.

"The president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, suspended the deputy chief of the national security council, Volodymyr Sivkovich, and mayor Olexander Popov over their suspected involvement in a violation of rights" of protesters in Kiev on the night of November 29-30, a presidential statement said.

Ukrainian demonstrators on Wednesday forced security forces to retreat after a failed pre-dawn raid on their protest camp, in a blow to the authority of President Viktor Yanukovych after nearly three weeks of rallies against his rule.

International pressure mounted on the embattled leader with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland visiting the protesters in Kiev and telling the president the attempted police crackdown was "inadmissible."

Ukrainians protesting against the government's rejection of a key pact with the European Union on Sunday toppled the statue of Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin in central Kiev, police said.

"People in masks toppled the statue of Lenin," a police spokeswoman told Agence France Presse, saying they brandished the flag of Ukraine's nationalist Freedom Party and threw flares. Lenin, the founder of the Soviet state, is a figure of hate for Ukrainian nationalists.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov apologized on Tuesday for a brutal police crackdown on Kiev protests over the weekend that drew firm Western condemnation and sparked even bigger rallies.

"On behalf of our government, I would like to apologize for the actions of our law enforcement authorities on Maidan (Independence Square)," Azarov told an emergency parliament session to chants of "resignation" from pro-EU opposition lawmakers.

About 400 Ukrainian opposition activists clashed with baton-wielding police in the center of Kiev on Wednesday as they try to force fresh elections in the capital.

The activists, many of them supporters of jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and boxer-turned-lawmaker Vitali Klitschko, tried to break through a police cordon and enter the city council building to break up its regular meeting.

Ukrainian security forces on Friday broke up a demonstration by hundreds of people in central Kiev protesting against police brutality after the alleged rape of a woman in the south of the country by two officers.

Around 200 people turned out on Kiev's Independence Square Thursday evening for the protest, many clutching pictures of relatives who they claimed have been tortured or beaten by the Ukrainian security forces.

Over 5,000 people led by opposition leaders like boxing star Vitaly Klitschko took to the streets of Kiev Tuesday to protest against city authorities and demand mayoral elections.

The Ukrainian capital's previous mayor Leonid Chernovetsky, who bewildered Ukrainians with his bizarre antics and was accused of insanity by opponents, resigned last year.

Thousands of Ukrainians protested in Kiev Monday against "political repressions" by the government of President Viktor Yanukovych as he flew to Brussels for a key Ukraine-European Union summit.

About five thousand protesters marched through central streets of capital Kiev before assembling on the main square, in a strong response to demonstration appeals by three opposition movements.

A Mario Balotelli header and a thumping drive gave Italy a richly deserved 2-1 win over Germany in Thursday's Euro 2012 semi-final in Warsaw.

The 21-year-old struck a first half brace to stun the Germans before a Mesut Ozil penalty reduced the deficit at the death.