This Saturday, hundreds of people have demonstrated in the streets of Dublin to express their opposition to Russia’s assault in Ukraine. For the third consecutive day, protestors of different ages and origins gathered in the streets to show their support in the “Stand With Ukraine” rally. Starting from O’Connell street, the crowd then moved on to the Ukrainian embassy located on Orwell street intoning “we need peace” and “stand with Ukraine” whilst waving Ukrainian, Georgian and Irish flags. Some protestors also gathered outside the Russian embassy to call for an end to the ambush.
On February 24th, Russian president Vladimir Putin deployed military troops to invade Ukraine through the north, east and south of the country. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Health, at least 352 civilians, including 14 children, have been killed since the beginning of the invasion and thousands of Ukrainians have been displaced.
In many European cities, thousands of people also gathered in solidarity with Ukraine. On Sunday, 100,000 people protested at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, near the Russian embassy to express their opposition to the war. In Paris, London, Madrid, Prague and Krakow hundreds of anti-war protesters also followed the movement.
After announcing various sanctions against Russia, European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, indicated that this situation would be a “turning point”.
“For the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that’s under attack”.
Ursula von der Leyen
According to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, the EU will supply 450 million euros of lethal equipment to the Ukrainian army and 50 million euros of essential resources. A recent Guardian survey shows that 60% of European citizens are in favour of NATO actions to defend Ukraine against Russian invasion.
