Thousands protest against Russia’s invasion
SYDNEY/TOKYO: Several hundred people marched in heavy rain in Sydney on Saturday chanting “Ukraine will prevail” and demanding more action against Moscow, while protesters in Tokyo called for Russia to be expelled from the United Nations Security Council.
From Tokyo through Warsaw and London to New York, thousands have protested in recent days against the invasion, Europe’s biggest security crisis in decades.
Draped in Ukraine’s blue and yellow flag and waving the country’s national banner, Sydney protesters also carried also signs condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to topple the Ukrainian government.
Some speakers demanded that the government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison expands sanctions against Moscow and bans Russian citizens from visiting Australia, while others called for the Nato to step into the conflict.
“I want more economic sanctions on Russia, I want military help for Ukraine,” said Katarina, a protester who gave only her first name. “I want more action, more concrete action and less words. It’s too late for diplomacy right now.”
Another protester, Mogdan, called on the Australian government to lead other countries in attempts to stop Putin.
“It’s World War Three, it’s a war not only on Ukraine, it’s a war on everyone,” the protester said. A smaller protest took place in front of the Russian embassy in Canberra, Australia’s capital, with people carrying signs “Putin off Ukraine” and “Stop War”.
Several hundred people gathered in the busy Shibuya shopping district in central Tokyo, many with their children and Ukrainian flags, chanting “stop the war” and “stop Putin” in Japanese and English.
Swedish climate and environment activist Greta Thunberg said on Twitter she was taking part in a protest on Friday outside the Russian embassy in Stockholm against its invasion of Ukraine.
Thunberg, 19, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, posted on Twitter a picture of her standing with other protesters holding a sign with “Stand With Ukraine” written on it, saying she was “outside the Russian embassy right now”.
Some 30,000 people rallied in Georgia’s capital on Friday in an outpouring of solidarity with fellow ex-Soviet country Ukraine. On Friday evening, demonstrators filled Tbilisi’s main thoroughfare, waving Ukrainian and Georgian flags and singing the both countries’ national anthems.
“We feel for Ukrainians, maybe more than other countries do, because we’ve seen Russia’s barbaric aggression on our soil,” 32-year-old taxi driver Niko Tvauri told AFP.