Status: 02/24/2023 5:39 p.m
A human chain between Münster and Osnabrück, demos in Berlin and Cologne, silent remembrance in Hamburg: on the anniversary of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, thousands showed solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
One year after the start of the Russian war of aggression, politicians, citizens and associations in numerous German cities showed their solidarity with the Ukraine. Several state parliaments expressed this by hoisting Ukrainian flags and commemorating the victims. There were also larger rallies.
According to the organizers, around 20,000 people took part in a “peace chain” between Osnabrück and Münster. By early afternoon, around 18,500 people had officially registered for the demo. In the North Rhine-Westphalian municipality of Ladbergen, the parts from Osnabrück and Münster were symbolically connected. The human chain ran a total of 50 kilometers. Municipalities, associations, neighborhoods, church communities, parties, trade unions and other organizations from Osnabrück, Münster and the Münsterland had called for the campaign.
Places of negotiation of the Peace of Westphalia
The campaign takes place at historic locations: 375 years ago, the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 sealed the end of the Thirty Years’ War in Osnabrück and Münster. Against this background, today’s chain between the negotiation sites should be a sign of peace, justice and climate protection as well as solidarity with the people in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Iran and other war zones, it said.
Numerous other solidarity rallies are to take place in North Rhine-Westphalia, including in Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Aachen and Bonn. In Cologne, a demonstration “Together for a free Ukraine and a peaceful Europe” is planned in front of the cathedral.
Julia Cruz, rbb, on rallies for Ukraine in Berlin
tagesschau24 6 p.m., 24.2.2023
Rally at the Brandenburg Gate
In Berlin, too, people demonstrated at noon for an end to the Ukraine war. Another protest action with more than 12,000 participants is expected there. The exiled Ukrainian organization Vitsche and the Center for Liberal Modernity, among others, called for this. Finally, a rally is planned at the Brandenburg Gate.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had previously invited to a central event to commemorate the victims of the Russian war of aggression at Bellevue Palace in Berlin. He expressed German solidarity with the people in the war-torn country.
Minute of silence in Hamburg
In the north, citizens were called to a minute’s silence: in Hamburg, for example, the elevated railway stopped at 12 noon. According to a spokeswoman, check-in at the airport in the Hanseatic city was briefly paused.
People also wanted to take to the streets in numerous other cities across Germany, for example in Bremen, Dresden, Leipzig and Frankfurt am Main.
Topic overview
war in Ukraine
