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Tens of thousands protest in Berlin against Russia's attack on Ukraine

More than 100,000 people attended a Ukraine solidarity march in Germany's capital, bearing signs reading: "Stop the War", "Putin's last war" and "We stand with Ukraine".

Reuters

The protest comes as Russia's attack on Ukraine entered its fourth day.

More than 100,000 people have staged a protest in solidarity with Ukraine in Berlin, calling for the end of Russia's attack and saying history should not repeat itself.

Train and underground service was interrupted in some parts of the German capital on Sunday as thousands made their way to the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin, near the Russian embassy.

The crowd of protesters bearing signs reading: "Stop the War", "Putin's last war" and "We stand with Ukraine" along with Ukrainian and European Union flags, extended from the Victory Column in the heart of the capital along the Straße des 17. Juni street and boulevard to the Brandenburg Gate.

The street is named after the June 17, 1953 uprising in East Germany against its communist rulers.

The protest comes as Russia's attack on Ukraine entered its fourth day, triggering three sanctions package from Germany and its Western allies and pushing Berlin to shift its decades-long policy of not exporting arms to conflict zones.

'You're welcome here'

"Ukrainians: You're welcome here!" shouted one of the speakers as the crowd cheered.

More than 368,000 refugees, mainly women and children, have fled the fighting into neighbouring countries, the UN refugee agency said on Sunday, citing data provided by national authorities.

The police had expected some 20,000 people to participate in the protest but estimated that the number of people who have taken part is a "six-digit figure", adding that more people were still flocking to the demonstration.

Anti-war rallies in Russia

From Moscow to Siberia, Russian anti-war activists took to the streets again on Sunday despite the arrests of hundreds of protesters each day.

Demonstrators held pickets and marched in city centers, chanting “No to war!” as President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear deterrent to be put on high alert, upping the ante in the Kremlin’s standoff with the West and stoking fears of a nuclear war.

Protests against the attack started on Thursday in Russia and have continued daily ever since, even as Russian police have moved swiftly to crack down on the rallies and detain protesters.

The protests Sunday appeared smaller than the ones that took place on Thursday, the first day of Russia’s attack in Ukraine, when thousands of people rallied in Moscow and St Petersburg, but their true scale was hard to assess.

In St Petersburg, where dozens gathered in the city center, police in full riot gear were grabbing one protester after another and dragging some into police vans, even though the demonstration was peaceful and no violent incidents have occurred.

According to the OVD-Info rights group that tracks political arrests, by Sunday afternoon police detained at least 356 Russians in 32 cities over anti-war demonstrations that day.

SOURCE: Reuters