An anti-war action by the Russian opposition was held in the center of Berlin today. The leaders of the march were Yulia Navalna, Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin. The purpose of the march was unification of the opposition, BNR reported.
Participants in the march, organized under the slogans "No to Putin!", "No to the war in Ukraine!", "Freedom for political prisoners!", started the procession from the "Potsdamerplatz" square. and marched through the entire center to the Russian embassy.
About 2,000 people joined the procession. The organizers announced that they were all united against Putin: "Friends, we are different, but one thing unites us - we are all against Putin's criminal regime and the war he started in Ukraine”.
The column of demonstrators at the beginning of the procession stretched 50-70 meters, and a banner with the inscription "No Putin No war" was unfurled in the first row. The poster was carried by leaders Yulia Navalna, Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin.
Protesters carried Russian and Ukrainian flags, as well as white-blue-white flags. The question of what flags to fly at an opposition rally caused controversy even before the rally began. White-blue-white is worn by oppositionists who believe that the Russian flag currently symbolizes the war in Russia and reject the color red, which is a symbol of blood. The protesters also chanted for the victory of Ukraine:
"Freedom of Russia, victory of Ukraine“
A number of countries around the world also held actions in support of the Berlin anti-war march. In Australia, demonstrations took place in Melbourne and Adelaide, in the USA - in San Francisco. Protests were also reported in New Zealand and Japan. Protesters chanted for unity and that they are not afraid of Putin:
"As long as we are united, we are invincible”.
The Kremlin commented skeptically on the anti-war protest. According to the press secretary of the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov, the organizers of the event are "torn from their country" and their opinion is not "of any interest". For his part, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Alexey Makeev, criticized the anti-war march in Berlin. The diplomat characterized the action as a PR campaign "whose target audience is not the Russian population, but the German media and politicians". According to Makeev, the fight is not "against the Russian regime, but for the attention of Germany and the financing of the opposition.