Thousands Gather in Paris and Prague for Pro-Ukraine Rallies
On Sunday, more than 10,000 people gathered in the French capital for a rally to mark the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports. Participants in the march, following a banner calling for unity for Ukraine's victory, unfurled a 262-metre-long national flag.
‘Solidarity with Ukraine!’ chanted the demonstrators, who included French, Georgian and Polish community members. Among those present were representatives of the Paris City Hall, senators and deputies.
Ukraine's Ambassador to France Vadym Omelchenko, who took part in the event, stressed that France sticks to its position: ‘nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, nothing about Europe without Europe’.
Among the slogans of the rally were: ‘Trump, Putin, no negotiations without Ukraine!’, “Putin means massacre and murder” and “Ukraine is not for sale”.
‘Today, we traditionally called on France to engage its army as guarantors of peace in Ukraine. We also call for the immediate unfreezing of Russian assets in support of Ukraine and a significant increase in military aid,’ said Volodymyr Kohutiak, Vice President of the World Congress of Ukrainians and Deputy Chairman of the Union of Ukrainians in France.
Later that day, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris led a mass at Notre Dame de Paris for the victims of the war and for peace in Ukraine.
In Prague, Czech Republic, several thousand people came to the Old Town Square for a rally ‘Together for Ukraine’ to commemorate the third anniversary of the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Radio Liberty reports.
The organisers and participants of the event called to ‘show the world that we stand behind Ukraine and will stand behind it as long as it takes’.
Czech President Petr Pavel, Ukrainian Ambassador to the Czech Republic Vasyl Zvarych, as well as Czech human rights activists and artists spoke at the rally.
‘In addition to the fact that Ukraine deserves glory, I wish it peace as soon as possible - a decent, just peace. In order for Ukraine to have a future that it can choose, either within Europe or within NATO, but it must choose it itself, and Russia must not be able to determine its future,’ Petr Pavel said from the stage of the rally.
He also warned against manipulations that Ukraine had allegedly provoked Russia's aggression: ‘From what has happened, I think it is quite clear who the aggressor is, who has violated international law and who the victim is, on whose side we should stand. If only because international law protects us as well. And if we allow it to be compromised, if we reward the aggressor, then sooner or later it will affect us.’
According to The Gaze, on the occasion of the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian community in Europe and around the world is holding rallies calling for further support for Ukraine in its fight against the aggressor.
Rallies were held in Croatia, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Ireland, Belgium, Italy and Lithuania.