The support is global. On Saturday, on the tenth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as civilians struggle to escape from besieged cities like Mariupol or Kiev, thousands of citizens took to the streets of major Western cities to demand a halt of the war. The blue and yellow flags, the colors of Ukraine, were already out last weekend, in Berlin or Prague, in very busy demonstrations. According to the Ministry of the Interior, on Saturday, more than 41,000 people pounded the pavement in several French cities. They were 16,000 at the start of the Place de la République in Paris. Several political figures joined the procession.
A protester with a sign in the colors of Ukraine, March 5 in Paris.
Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP
“We will be there every weekend, in Paris or elsewhere, until Vladimir Putin leaves, withdraws his tanks,” Aline Le Bail-Kremer, a member of Stand With, told AFP. Ukraine, one of the organizations behind the rally in the French capital. “Despite the suffering, we are going to win, we are sure of it,” said Nataliya, a Franco-Ukrainian, who did not wish to give her name to protect her son who remained in her country. “We are proud of their courage, their determination,” she added. The same words were spoken by demonstrators who marched in Nantes, Marseille, Lyon, Rennes, Saint-Etienne or Roanne.
In Zürich, the most populous city in Switzerland, several tens of thousands of people responded to the appeal of unions and left-wing parties. The citizens, in the street, waved signs “Peace now”, “Stop War” or “Peace”. They demanded an immediate ceasefire, diplomatic negotiations and the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.
Demonstrators of the “peace procession” in Rome, March 5, 2022.
Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP
In Italy too, the “peace procession” was vast. “No base, no soldier, Italy out of NATO”, chanted the pacifists in this procession preceded by a large flag in the colors of the rainbow. “No to Putin, no to NATO”, proclaimed several placards. “This is perhaps one of the first real demonstrations for peace. Here, nobody believes that we make peace (…) by sending weapons to one of the parties”, declared the famous Italian caricaturist, actor and writer Vauro Senesi. “There are no just wars or smart bombs,” said Maurizio Landini, the boss of the CGIL (left), the largest Italian trade union confederation.
Protesters demanded, in New York, Saturday, March 5, 2022, a no-fly zone in Ukraine.
Photo by Ed JONES / AFP
In New York, in front of several thousand people gathered in Times Square, several voices on the platform demanded, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wishes, the creation of a no-fly zone over Ukraine. What NATO refuses, for fear of an escalation with Russia.
Demonstrators called for “stop Russian terrorism” while in London, on Trafalgar Square, placards read “Putin kills” and “Total embargo against Russia”. The Apostolic Nuncio to Britain, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, read a prayer. “Today we are all Ukrainians,” she said.
In Zagreb, too, more than a thousand people gathered in support of Ukraine. “Stop the war, Save Europe” and “Glory to Ukraine”, could we read. Many citizens wrapped themselves in the Ukrainian flag in the capital of Croatia. The same colors floated… in Ukraine itself, in Kherson, a city taken by the Russian armed forces three days ago. Footage shared on social media showed a crowd of protesters gathered in a town square. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Koeleba praised Kherson’s courage on Twitter. “Thousands of peaceful Ukrainians are protesting against the Russian occupation in the face of armed Russian soldiers,” he commented. Before calling on the whole world to express its support for all Ukrainians.