KIEV, Nov. 25 - Thousands of Ukrainians took part in scattered protests across the country Monday amid simmering anger over President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to abandon a planned trade pact with the European Union and focus instead on ties with Russia.

The government, meanwhile, sought to tout the benefits of warming relations with Russia, saying it was closing in on lower gas prices vital to the spluttering economy.

The protests in Kiev were smaller than Sunday, when more than 100,000 are estimated to have taken to the streets in scenes reminiscent of the Orange Revolution in 2004.

Police used tear gas against a crowd of several hundred protesters outside the main government building Monday, while around 10,000 students protested in the western city of Lviv, local media reported.

Late Monday, riot police clashed with protesters in a crowd of several thousand on a central Kiev square, and several opposition lawmakers reported minor injuries.

The opposition, weak and divided without its main leader, jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, appeared unable to capitalize on the protests, despite surveys showing that more Ukrainians want integration with the EU than with Russia.

"It's not the same numbers and there's no external support," said Amanda Paul, an analyst at the European Policy Center, referring to the Orange Revolution that halted Yanukovych's first run at the presidency in 2004, according to The Wall Street Journal report. "The opposition is weak and people are sick of politicians, so it's more of a symbolic gesture."

The free-trade and political-association deal with the EU would have set Ukraine on a Western path. But the government last week said it was halting preparations to sign the agreement at an EU summit that kicks off Thursday to concentrate on fixing relations with its former Soviet master Russia.

Moscow had threatened trade retaliation if Ukraine signed the deal, and the government in Kiev said it was acting to avert significant economic hardship.

The government showed no sign of changing its mind Monday, turning its focus to leaning on Russia for long-sought financial support for the limping economy.

Yanukovych said it was a "tough decision," but that "I don't have the right to abandon people to their fate with problems that could arise if, under the pressure we are experiencing, production stops and millions of citizens will be cast out onto the street."

In an interview on Ukrainian television, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said the loss of trade and economic links with Russia would have severely harmed Ukraine's economy, and indicated Ukraine was close to a new deal on gas supplies from Russia.

"We have been persistently trying to persuade Russia to review the contract," Azarov told Ukraine's ICTV. "Now, generally speaking, there is such an agreement, and we hope to finalize it during talks."

Asked for comment on Azarov's statement, a spokeswoman for Russian state gas firm Gazprom said: "I suggest asking the Ukrainian prime minister."

Ukraine has long pushed for a discount on gas supplies from Gazprom, saying the high price is suffocating its economy, which is in recession. Russia has refused, saying cheaper prices were reserved for close economic and political allies. Support from Russia, perhaps through cheaper gas, would provide short-term help for Ukraine's finances, as the country grapples with a wide current-account deficit. But it would only put "paper over the cracks in Ukraine's struggling economy," said Liza Ermolenko from Capital Economics. (wsj/ez)