There is great dismay and horror at Russia’s attacks on Ukraine. In Bavaria, people show solidarity – with a wide variety of actions.
Munich – Destroyed buildings, people fleeing: The pictures from Ukraine are shocking. The dismay at the war in Europe is great. Russia’s ruler Vladimir Putin* attacked Ukraine on Thursday night. In the course of Thursday he brought Chernobyl under his control, among other things, and on Friday the Russian soldiers were already close to Kiev. The EU states have passed numerous sanctions against Russia, and Putin directly threatened retaliation.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Bavaria on Thursday to demonstrate against “Putin’s war”. Special solidarity actions for Ukraine took place in some cities.
Ukraine conflict: numerous peace protests in Bavaria’s cities
“Peace for Ukraine” and “Stop Putin” are the most common words on the demonstrators’ placards. But “this blood is on your hands” is also written on the signs. In numerous Bavarian cities, people took to the streets in dismay to protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In Munich* they met in front of the State Chancellery. Natalija Reifenstein had organized the demonstration and tells Bayerischer Rundfunk that she called directly on Thursday morning and the demonstration was approved for her. “I posted on Facebook: Ukraine get up, we were attacked – please come to the Bavarian State Chancellery,” she describes the situation.
In the evening, around 200 people met in Munich in front of the Russian Consulate General. There were also protest marches and rallies in Nuremberg, Passau, Landshut, Augsburg, Erlangen and Fürth. According to the police, around 1,000 people came together at the Kornmarkt in Nuremberg*. Among them was Nuremberg’s Mayor Marcus König (CSU), who had emotional conversations with many participants, as reported by BR. König had previously condemned the attacks on Ukraine in the strongest possible terms. He spoke of “deeply inhuman behavior”.
Ukraine conflict: solidarity actions in Bavaria – yellow-blue stadium in Augsburg
In Augsburg* Mayor Eva Weber also took part in the demonstration. According to BR information, she condemned Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine and announced that the Ukrainian flag and peace flags of the city of Augsburg would be hoisted on Rathausplatz. Meanwhile, the FC Augsburg stadium, the WWK Arena, was lit up in the national colors of blue and yellow as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine. “War or violence cannot and must not be a means of asserting one’s own interests,” said the FCA.
The zugspitze.de Instagram account also showed solidarity with Ukraine. A photo shows the cross on the summit of the Zugspitze* in the colors blue and yellow. “Love your neighbor for peace on earth,” reads the post.
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Ukraine conflict: Peace prayers for Ukraine in Würzburg
Around 100 people gathered in the Marienkapelle in Würzburg on Thursday evening to pray for peace in Ukraine. (tkip) *Merkur.de/bayern is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
List of rubrics: © Stefan Puchner/dpa
