Demonstrations across Europe protest war in Ukraine

Thousands of demonstrators marched across Europe on Friday against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A year after the start of the war, a wrecked Russian tank was displayed in front of the embassy in Berlin, with a gun pointed at the entrance.

From the UK to the Baltics, leaders from across Europe took part in the ceremonies, underlining their unwavering support for Ukraine and paying tribute to the victims of the conflict.

A minute’s silence was observed at Freedom Square in the Estonian capital Tallinn where European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met to honor the memory of the dead.

In London, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak observed a minute’s silence outside Downing Street before the Ukrainian national anthem was sung by two choirs dressed in traditional Ukrainian shirts.

– A tank in the middle of Berlin –

In the German capital, which has been a symbol of the Cold War for almost 28 years, thirteen rallies took place that brought together thousands of people: eleven in support of Ukraine, one against arms deliveries, one. peace

The largest of them, organized under the banner “We will never forget”, had around 8,000 participants, a police spokesperson said.

At the Berlin International Film Festival, a show of solidarity with Ukraine brought dozens of film personalities together on the red carpet, including the head of the jury, American star Kristen Stewart, who waved Ukrainian flags and symbols in Ukraine’s colors.

In West Germany, between the cities of Osnabrück and Münster, around 18,000 people formed a human chain for peace, holding hands for several minutes.

In the morning, passers-by could spot in the heart of the German capital, a few steps from the iconic Brandenburg Gate, a Russian tank that activists had dragged overnight to place it in front of the Russian embassy.

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The unusual image attracted many curious people on Friday morning, including classes on school visits.

“We were passing by and we saw a crowd, it’s weird to see a tank like that,” Alan Eban, a 22-year-old Indian student in the city, told AFP in the middle of Berlin.

A T-72 B1 type tank from 1985 was destroyed by a mine near Boutcha on the outskirts of Kiev on March 31, 2022. A portion of the tracks is crushed, as is the tower, partially pulverized.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Berlin, Oleksiy Makaev, visited the site of the wreckage in the middle of the night.

– Bucharest to London –

In Bucharest, a few hundred people, mostly Ukrainians and many children, marched on the Russian embassy, ​​chanting “Crimea Ukrainium!”, “Terrorist Russia!” or “Stop the war!”.

In Sofia, a thousand people gathered in front of the Bulgarian presidency building on Friday, waving yellow and blue flags.

Demonstrations also took place in Warsaw and Bern, while diplomats from around 30 countries gathered near the United Nations in Geneva in a sign of solidarity with Ukraine.

In Paris, the Eiffel Tower was lit up in yellow and blue on Thursday evening, as were the European Commission and Parliament buildings in Brussels or the National Theater and Place d’Armes in Warsaw in the center of Luxembourg.

Hundreds of people gathered in the French capital on Friday evening to pay tribute to the “heroic” resistance of the Ukrainian people.

In Marseille, France’s second city, several hundred people gathered in front of the town hall, holding signs reading “The world stands with Ukraine” (“Everyone supports Ukraine”) in a cloud of Ukrainian flags.

The gathering was held far from the anchorage provided by the Ukrainian city of Odessa and moved to the Old Port for a year to commemorate the twinning between the two port cities.

A hundred people gathered near the Place du Capitole in Toulouse, Que’s twin city. Other demonstrations took place across France, from Strasbourg in the east to Lille in the north.

In London, liters of paint were dumped in front of the Russian embassy to repaint a road in Ukrainian colors and hundreds of Britons flocked to Trafalgar Square for the event.

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