KIEV, May 11 - Opposition groups scheduled their next protest rally for May 17, when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is due to arrive in Kiev to sign a number of undisclosed deals in the energy sector.

“We have to get ready for the powerful rally of patriots on May 17,” Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister and the leader of the largest opposition group, said in a statement on Tuesday. “This is the day when they plan to surrender Ukraine’s interests.”