Petro Svalyavchuk, 21, an art student from the western city of Lviv, also planned to head home soon.
If the election campaign and vote count run smoothly, Svalyavchuk said, he plans to return to Kiev on Dec. 27 to celebrate what he expects to be Yushchenko's win, and then the New Year.
In another sign of easing tensions, demonstrators lifted their blockade of the Cabinet building on Thursday, allowing employees to return to work. Until Wednesday, thousands had blocked its entrances, and hundreds more stood in protest on a park embankment just across the street.
Demonstrators in the park had for days kept up a rhythmic racket by beating 20 makeshift drums. The metal barrels remained late Thursday, but they were silent. Only half a dozen people remained, gathered around a campfire.
"We are here because we've been here from the very beginning, and we want to struggle for truth and our freedom until the end," said Vladislav Masliy, 45, a construction worker. "Everything will be great. We want to achieve it with our drums. We'll drum some more, to support the people.... I'm here so that my children can live well. I have eight of them. I want them to live better than me."
At the tent city, Natalya Nedashkovska, 50, a clothing designer, and her friend Halyna Simitska, 57, a pensioner, were busy serving up hot potato soup and shredded cabbage. They have been traveling 70 miles a day to Kiev to cook and serve vegetables that they grew. They have no plans to stop.
"We don't think about the number of people here," Nedashkovska said. "We'll support those who are here. The people need food, and we'll bring it. How can we leave them? We are brothers and sisters. Who'll help them but us? We are one people. They are fighting for truth and justice. If we fight for our freedom, our children's future will be happy."
