Worldwide protests in solidarity with Ukraine

Demonstrators hold placards at a protest rally in central London yesterday. The UK government has ordered all assets of President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov frozen over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

Pro-Ukraine protests erupted across the world yesterday, as thousands took to the streets from London to Rome to Barcelona to denounce Russia’s assault on its neighbour.Moscow’s invasion has sparked global outcry and prompted punishing sanctions from the West, including some against Russian President Vladimir Putin himself.Yesterday, rallies were held in cities across the world to join the chorus of condemnation and urge an end to the bloodshed.Switzerland saw thousands of people gather across the country, including about 1,000 outside the United Nations’ European headquarters in Geneva.Demonstrators draped in Ukraine’s national colours of blue and yellow flocked to the “Broken Chair” — a large sculpture symbolising the civilian victims of war. The protesters demanded tougher actions from the government, which has so far shied way from imposing strict measures, choosing instead to stick closer to its traditional “neutral” stance.Swiss-based Russians joined in to show their opposition to the war, holding signs saying “I am Russian”.In Russia’s neighbour Finland, thousands of people gathered in the capital Helsinki shouting “Russia out, down with Putin!”More than 1,000 demonstrators answered the call of trade unions and NGOs in central Rome, huddling around a podium bearing the words “Against War”.Thousands of people had taken part in a torch-lit procession to the Colosseum, one of the Italian capital’s major landmarks, on Friday evening.“We’ve always been close to the Ukrainian people. Our feeling of powerlessness is huge,” Maria Sergi, a 40-year-old Russian-born Italian, told AFP.In the southern French cities of Montpellier and Marseille, hundreds marched yesterday chanting “Stop war, stop Putin”, while further protests were also expected in Paris.Anti-war demonstrators were also out in force in Barcelona, numbering around 1,000 yesterday according to local police. Dimitri, a Russian designer living in Barcelona, said he feared sanctions would set Russia’s development back. “We’re all going to suffer,” the 37-year-old told AFP.In Britain, hundreds of protesters headed to Russia’s embassy in London, with some defacing the street sign of St Petersburgh Place opposite the embassy with fake blood.In Georgia, almost 30,000 people hit the streets of Tbilisi Friday night, waving Ukrainian and Georgian flags and singing both countries’ national anthems.Russia’s attack on Ukraine resonates strongly in Georgia, a fellow ex-Soviet republic that suffered a devastating Russian invasion in 2008.“We have sympathy for the Ukrainians, perhaps more than other countries, because we’ve experienced Russia’s barbaric aggression on our soil,” Niko Tvauri, a 32-year-old taxi driver, told AFP.Teacher Meri Tordia added: “Ukraine is bleeding, the world watches and talks about sanctions that won’t stop Putin.”