Pro-Ukrainian rallies held across Europe on war anniversary

Crowds gathered in Berlin, London, Paris and other European cities, waving blue and yellow Ukrainian flags and demanding Russian President Vladimir Putin end the war.

When President Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022, conflict returned to Europe for the first time in decades and a geopolitical earthquake shook the world.

Protests at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate called for faster arms deliveries amid fears that support from Ukraine’s allies will dwindle as a emboldened Russia racks up battlefield victories. .

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner addressed thousands of supporters waving banners reading “Arm Ukraine now” and condemned President Vladimir Putin’s “brutal war of aggression.”

“He wants to wipe out Ukraine, he wants to wipe out the Ukrainian identity,” he told the crowd. Organizers estimated the number at just over 10,000, but police put the number at 5,000.

“But we won’t allow that.”

He asked Berlin to deploy Taurus long-range missiles, which Kiev has long sought, but the German government has so far rejected this request, fearing it could also attack Russia.

Valeria Zylenko, a 32-year-old Ukrainian who attended the rally, acknowledged that “it is now even more difficult to support only Ukraine” because of other crises occurring around the world.

But she added: “We want to remind the world that we are still here and we are still fighting back…We still need this support.”

In London, thousands of demonstrators marched to Trafalgar Square waving banners reading “The world stands with Ukraine” and “Russia is a terrorist state.”

Ukrainian Tania Zvashenko, 54, said, “People are dying every day, and unfortunately Western countries are not supplying enough weapons.”

“They make promises, but sometimes it’s just words. We need real action.”

Protests were held across France, with thousands marching in central Paris, with crowds chanting “Putin’s killer” and “Russia get out of Ukraine”.

In Rouen, Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol told an audience of several hundred people: “Ukraine is not only defending its sovereignty, but also European values ​​and ideals.”

“Europe is at war and we cannot afford to stand idly by.”

In Warsaw, the capital of Poland, Ukraine’s neighbor and key ally, more than 1,000 protesters gathered outside the Russian embassy and waved Ukrainian flags.

Demonstrators held up crosses with the names of Russian war victims and models of buildings destroyed by Russian bombing.

Demonstrations also took place in many other European cities, including Dublin, Athens, Stockholm and Milan.

At a rally in Stockholm, Mariana Kostykh, a 22-year-old Ukrainian from Lviv, told AFP she hoped Ukraine would “win the war.”

“Everything will be over and all Ukrainians can return to Ukraine and start living a normal life again. That’s all I want,” she told AFP.

Despite Saturday’s show of support across the continent, European countries are growing concerned about the lack of progress in Ukraine’s efforts to fend off Moscow.

A survey released last week found that only 10% of Europeans believe Ukraine can defeat Russia on the battlefield.

A survey of 12 EU countries conducted last month showed that an average of 20% of respondents believed Russia could win, and 37% thought the conflict would end with a compromise solution. It was done.

sr/imm