Eiffel: Topless Femen Activists Protest against Ukraine's Yulia Tymoshenko

Activists from the radical feminist group Femen have staged a topless demonstration against Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko in Paris.

Three "sextremists" - as Femen calls its members - took off their tops at the Trocadero Square near the Eiffel Tower in the French capital.

The women exposed the slogan "Ukraine is not Free", "Putin's new Puppet" and "Yanukovich = Tymoshenko" emblazoned across their naked chests.

The three activist sported Tymoshenko's trademark blond hair braids tied to form a slipknot.

In a November interview with IBTimes UK, Femen leader and Ukrainian native Inna Shevchenko criticised Tymoshenko saying it was not enough for a woman to hold a role of power to be described as a feminist.

"I would never say she was a great example of a woman in power," Shevchenko said.

Tymoshenko served as Ukrainian prime minister twice, briefly in 2005 and then again from 2007 to 2010.

The 52-year-old was released from jail last week, in the wake of the revolution that toppled her political rival, fugitive president Viktor Yanukovich.

She is now expected to run for president but remains a divisive figure amid Ukrainian revolutionaries, as many perceive her as an exponent of the corruption-ridden old political establishment.

Born in the Russian speaking eastern city of Dnipropetrovsk, Tymoshenko was one of the leaders of the 2004 Orange Revolution. However many believe that, once in power, she failed to deliver the change she had promised.

She was jailed in 2011 for betraying the national interest in a case that revolved around a controversial gas contract she signed with Russia. Charges against her were described by the EU as politically motivated.

Femen, which started as a small university protest group in Ukraine, has staged protests against Yanukovich and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past.