People assembled in major cities across the globe on Thursday to protest Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
In London, a demonstration organised by the London Euromaidan group and other Ukrainian activists, urged the Russian leader to “stop this war now” after Ukraine was hit by missiles on Thursday morning.
Mass protests were also held in Berlin, Barcelona, The Hague in the Netherlands, Warsaw, Thessaloniki in Greece among others.
In London, demonstrators called for tougher sanctions against President Putin’s regime, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledging Thursday “a massive package of sanctions” to “hobble the Russian economy”.
Protesters could be seen holding banners which read: “When the last Ukrainian soldier falls, Putin will come for you”.
Others held signs depicting Putin alongside the words “terrorist” and “murderer”.
Footage showed demonstrators falling silent for a rendition of Ukraine’s national anthem, and periodic chanting of “Stop Putin. Stop the war.”
One of those attending the protest said: “I see fellow Russians in Moscow arrested for protesting.
“We in free countries should cherish opportunity to express our moral outrage with both Putin’s aggression and Western leaders who failed to avert disaster”.
Hundreds of people had previously showed their support for Ukraine and its people at a protest outside the Russian embassy in Kensington, west London on Wednesday night.
