Russians Chant 'No to War!'

Thousands in Moscow, elsewhere protest invasion of Ukraine on first day
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 24, 2022 7:30 PM CST
Russians Chant 'No to War!'
Oleksandra Yashan, who's from Ukraine, tears up Thursday during a vigil to protest in Lafayette Park in front of the White House in Washington. She's wearing the colors of Ukraine's flag.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Thousands of Russians who woke up to the news that their nation had attacked Ukraine took to the streets to protest on Thursday. They found a heavy police presence, with officers breaking up even small gatherings by using loudspeakers to order demonstrators to disperse, the New York Times reports. After access to Pushkinskaya Square in Moscow's city center was closed off, a few hundred demonstrators lined streets leading to it, at times chanting, "No to war!" OVD Info, a rights group, reported that more than 600 demonstrators were detained. Protests took place across Russia, and the group counted a total of 1,620 people detained in 52 cities, per the AP.

The protesters, some of whom displayed the Ukrainian flag, talked about how disheartened they were by the attack on a neighbor often called a "brotherly nation." One protester who said, "The world has turned upside down" broke into tears when she saw the square wasn't packed. "Everyone must be here, it is the only way to show that something monstrous is happening," she said. Russian celebrities and public figures spoke out, as well. Oxxxymiron, one of the nation's most popular rappers, urged the creation of an antiwar movement in Russia. "I cannot entertain you when Russian missiles are falling on Ukraine," he posted on Instagram. The government has promised to punish protesters.

Demonstrations took place in cities around the world. In New York, protesters in Times Square shouted "Stand with Ukraine," per the AP, while others gathered near the Russian Federation's UN mission. Protesters also demonstrated in cities including Montreal, Budapest, Mexico City, and Santiago, Chile. Demonstrators burned a Russian passport in Vilnius, Lithuania. In Chicago, an immigration attorney said she's been receiving calls from Ukrainian Americans trying to help family members back home. "They are absolutely devastated, extremely sad," she said. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X