Russians, Ukrainians and Norwegians in joint anti-war protest
People in Kirkenes, a 15 minutes drive from the border to Russia’s Murmansk region, are shaken by news coming from the war zones in Ukraine. The small town has a mixed population, mainly Norwegians, but also many with Russian and Ukrainian background.
On Friday, three nationalities teamed up protesting in front of Moscow’s diplomatic mission, the northernmost Russian Consulate General in mainland Europe.
The messages were clear: “Stop War” - ”Putin to Haag” and “Putin, Hands off Ukraine.”
“We are here to support Ukraine,” says Natalia.
“It’s a shame what happens. I just have to tell my grandchildren that I have protested.”
Natalia says that most of her friends in Russia support Ukraine, but they are afraid to publicly protest.
“I can understand, yesterday nearly 2,000 protesters were arrested. Really strong people,” she says.
Natalia’s homemade poster has a short message: “Putin to The Hague” - the Netherland city home to the UN’s International Court of Justice.
“I think he is mad. But, he can’t avoid facing court,” she makes clear.
While Natalia is originally from Russia, her friend Inna is from Ukraine.
“It is absolutely awful, I talk on the phone with friends and family yesterday, at night and in the morning. They are in the northeast region where fighting takes place. Bombs are not only hitting military targets but also civilian water supply and heating systems, so they are there in cold apartments without water,” Inna tells.
“Putin, please stop the war,” is the message Inna wants to bring to the Russian Consulate General in Kirkenes. During the protest, however, none of the diplomates opened the door.
Several Norwegians also joined the ad-hoc demonstration, among them town council members Pål Gabrielsen and Brede Sæter.
“We have just proposed to raise the Ukrainian flag outside the Town Hall to show support,” says Gabrielsen, who formerly has been Mayor of the municipality.
Kirkenes Town Hall is next to Russia’s Consulate General.
Kirkenes (Sør-Varanger) municipality has two friendships towns (municipalities) on Russia’s Kola Peninsula. Both home to powerful military assets of the Northern Fleet; Severomorsk and Pechenga.
“The fact that Putin has started a war against Ukraine puts a kind of another frame to the cooperation and the friendship agreements we have. We have to evaluate and clearly state our opinions,” Pål Gabrielsen says.
“Our message to Putin is clear. Withdraw the troops, the ongoing war is dangerous for the entire world,” he says.
The Russian Consulate General in Kirkenes has not made any public statements.
In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin on Friday afternoon said on national TV that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s government is a “band of drug addicts and neo-Nazis that had lodged itself in Kyiv and taken hostage the entire Ukrainian people.”
In Oslo, Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt called in Russian Ambassador Teimuraz Ramishvili on the carpet with a clear message to stop the unprovoked attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre called on Putin to stop the war.
“Norway condemns Russia’s military attack on Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. This attack is a serious violation of international law and will have dramatic consequences for the people of Ukraine,” Støre wrote on Twitter.
Thousands of people in several cities across the globe have taken part in anti-war protests.
By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 25 Feb 2022
Thousands of people have taken to public squares and Russian embassies across the globe to protest President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
From London and New York to Beirut and Istanbul, demonstrators, some cloaked in Ukrainian flags, have come out in droves to show solidarity with Ukrainians.
The invasion, which took place on Thursday morning, comes after months of rising tensions between Russia, Ukraine, and its Western allies.
As Ukrainians prepare for an assault on the capital Kyiv, hundreds of Russians staged anti-war protests in Moscow, St Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod, among other cities.
More than 1,745 protesters across 54 cities were arrested on Thursday. Russians have also signed open letters to demand a halt to the attack on Ukraine.
The map and list below shows the locations where sizeable protests have occurred. More protests are planned in the coming days across cities worldwide.
International cities where protests have taken place:
Amsterdam; Athens; Austin; Barcelona; Beirut; Berlin; Bern; Budapest; Chicago; Copenhagen; Denver; Dublin; Edinburgh; Frankfurt; Geneva; Houston; Istanbul; Krakow; London; Madrid; Melbourne; Milan; Naples; New York City; Nice; Oslo; Ottawa; Paris; Prague; Rome; San Francisco; Stockholm; Sydney; Tallinn; Tbilisi; Tel Aviv; The Hague; Tokyo; Turin; Vienna; Vilnius; Warsaw; Washington, DC; Wellington.
Protests have taken place in at least 50 Russian cities including: Chelyabinsk; Moscow; Nizhny Novgorod; Novosibirsk; Perm; Saint Petersburg; Yekaterinburg.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
Fri., February 25, 2022
Sarajevans send message of support to Ukraine
SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Bosnians recalled the trauma of their own war as they protested on Friday against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, urging the world to learn the lessons from their experience.
While there have been protests against the conflict in cities across the world - including in Moscow - for activists in Sarajevo, the memories of the 1990s are still raw.
"I cannot be indifferent to this," said Ferida Durakovic, a writer and peace activist who spent the whole war in Sarajevo, which was besieged by Serb forces for 43 months, with 11,000 of its citizens killed in shelling and by sniper fire.
"I've been hit by the PTSD, I see the images of what I've been through ... I need to say - stop, talk, negotiate for years if needed, just don't make war."
She was among dozens protesters who gathered at the monument to the 1,600 children killed in the city, carrying placards reading "Anti-war position is the only Position", "Sarajevo Understands" and "Learn from Sarajevo, Save Kyiv".
The Bosnian war among Serbs, Croats and Muslim Bosniaks, in which 100,000 people died and about 2 million were forced from their homes, has left the country split along ethnic lines and made it dysfunctional and unstable.
Ajna Jusic, who was born of rape during the war, carried a placard reading "Stop the War, Don't Abandon Ukraine as You Abandoned Bosnia and Herzegovina".
"When I saw the invasion on Ukraine, my blood froze because I know what my mother had been through, what other people had been through, and I still feel the pain and suffering caused by that war," Jusic said.
Jasminko Halilovic, the founder of the War Childhood Museum in Sarajevo, which has a branch in Kyiv documenting memories of children during the years of fighting in eastern Ukraine, said that his staff were trying to leave Ukraine "as we speak".
"I feel terrible - I don't sleep, I am disgusted that something like this is happening in Europe again," Halilovic said, wrapped in the Ukrainian yellow-blue flag.
"I am disappointed in the European Union and its indecisiveness. I think that Ukrainians are not fighting just for themselves, they are fighting for the whole of Europe."
(Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Alison Williams)
A small group protested against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, expressing concern about family members who are stuck in the country
25 February 2022 -
A group of Ukrainian citizens protest outside the Russian embassy in Cape Town on February 25 2022. They are calling for a stop to Russia's incursion into Ukraine.
Image: Esa Alexander
Ukrainians and Russians living in Cape Town gathered outside the Russian embassy in the Cape Town city centre to protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
With tears in their eyes they remembered their loved ones in Russia and Ukraine and called for an end to the conflict that has sparked outrage around the world.
They chanted “Stop war! Stop War!” while looking up at the windows of the embassy.
Other protests have been taking place around the world, including the UK and Denmark.
People gather in protest near the Russian embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark, after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military operation in eastern Ukraine on Thursday.
Image: Reuters
Nato leaders have condemned the conflict, calling on Russia to leave Ukraine territory.
“This is a blatant violation of international law -an act of aggression against a sovereign, independent and peaceful country and a serious threat to Euro-Atlantic security,” Nato said in a statement.
“We call on Russia to immediately cease its military action, withdraw its forces from Ukraine and choose diplomacy.”
Meanwhile, Russia banned UK airlines from its airspace on Friday.
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