Thousands of people demonstrated on Saturday in London, Paris, Rome, Zurich and New York to call for an end to the war in Ukraine, AFP journalists found.
“We will be here every weekend, in Paris or anywhere else, until Putin leaves, withdraw your tanks,” said Aline Le Bail-Kremer, a member of Stand With Ukraine, one of the organizations behind the rally in the French capital.
According to a police source, by this Saturday rallies in support of Ukraine had been organized in more than a hundred cities in France, which could bring together some 25,000 protesters in total.
Also in New York, thousands gathered in the emblematic Times Square to demand an intervention in Ukraine from the West.
“NATO and the European Union mustThey were going to get involved” in Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, 32-year-old Tania Schneider told AFP.
Men and women of all ages packed the plaza in the heart of Manhattan anddemanding “the end of the war” and “stop (Russian President Vladimir) Putin” with banners.
“We ask for help (…), Do not delay!” Tatiana Dyakun, a 38-year-old Ukrainian who said she has lived in the United States for six years, implored through tears, for whom a third world war “will happen tomorrow or the day after morning”.
Protest in Miami, Florida (USA) / Photo: AFP
Meanwhile, in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, hundreds of people demonstrated to demand an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and pray for peace.
The protesters gathered in the central Trafalgar Square with flags and banners reading phrases like “Putin kills” and “Embargo on Russia”
Similar posters could be seen in the center of Rome, the Italian capital, where several unions and NGOs organized a “demonstration for peace”.
“This is perhaps one of the first real demonstrations for peace. Nobody here believes that peace is made with weapons, sending weapons to one of the parties,” Italian cartoonist, actor and writer Vauro Senesi told AFP, surrounded by thousands of people.
In Zurich, the most populous city in Switzerland, about 40,000 people called for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, according to ATS, the local news agency.
The demonstration, littered with Ukrainian flags, was called by some unions and leftist parties.
LThe organizers expected about 20,000 peoples, but they estimate there were more than 40,000, according to ATS. Police figures are not yet known.
Since the Russian offensive in Ukraine began on February 24, anti-war demonstrations have multiplied around the world.
Last weekend, hundreds of thousands of people dressed in yellow and blue marched across Europe: a few thousand in Russia, at least 100,000 in Berlin, 70,000 in Prague and 40,000 in Madrid.
Biden and Zelensky spoke on the phone
the ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky announced on Sunday that he spoke by phone again with his American counterpart Joe Biden to discuss financial support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.
“In the framework of a permanent dialogue, I have had a new conversation with @POTUS (Biden). The agenda included financial support for Ukraine and the search for sanctions against Russia,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter.
Hours earlier, the Ukrainian leader addressed US lawmakers by video call, asking for more assistance for his country and cutting off imports of Russian oil.
US lawmakers promised another $10 billion in aid, although the White House ruled out suspending oil imports for fear that it would cause an increase in prices and affect the country’s consumers, who face a high rate of inflation.
Western countries have sent weapons, ammunition and resources to Ukraine and imposed harsh sanctions on Moscow to strengthen Kiev.
Last week, Washington authorized the allocation of $350 million worth of war equipment to Ukraine.
When visiting Ukrainian refugees on the border with PolandSecretary of State Antony Blinken said over the weekend that Washington is seeking $2.75 billion to deal with the humanitarian crisis resulting from the departure of nearly 1.4 million Ukrainian civilians.
