Thousands Across Europe Call For Peace In Ukraine

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Facts

  • Thousands of protesters called for peace in Ukraine in several European capitals over the weekend, following large-scale rallies across Europe against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which marked its anniversary on Feb. 24.1
  • On Sunday, thousands reportedly rallied in the French capital of Paris and other locations across the country for the second consecutive weekend in protests organized by the right-wing party Les Patriotes against Paris' arms shipments to Ukraine and the country's NATO and EU membership.2
  • Earlier in Germany, police claimed on Saturday that 13K anti-war protesters had gathered in the capital, Berlin, to demand an end to arms deliveries to Kyiv — the organizers claimed there were up to 50k participants. The protests, organized by far-left politician Sahra Wagenknecht and German women's rights activist Alice Schwarzer, were also met with several small counter-demonstrations.3
  • Also on Saturday, a rally organized by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Stop the War coalition was held in the British capital, London, in protest of continuous weapons shipment to Ukraine. Another group took to the streets to hold a counter-rally calling for an increase in military aid to Kyiv in its fight against Russia.4
  • Similar protests also took place in Italy, where several thousand people reportedly took to the streets in Genoa against military aid to Ukraine and the country's NATO and EU membership. Smaller protests for peace in Ukraine took place in Milan on Saturday.5
  • Meanwhile, in the Belgian capital Brussels over the weekend, 2K protesters reportedly called for Russia's withdrawal and an increase in military aid to Ukraine, while 1.6K people condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine but urged de-escalation through diplomatic means.6

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2Global village space, 3Guardian, 4Standard, 5Countercurrents and 6Euractiv.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Global times. The Europe-wide protests against arms deliveries to Ukraine reflect a growing rift between the European governments obedient to the US and their increasingly concerned populations. This trend could also have a negative impact on the supposed 'unity' of NATO countries in Washington's proxy war against Russia. European populations are becoming aware of the fact that Russia cannot be defeated militarily and that only a diplomatic solution can save them from an incalculable possible escalation.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Dw. It would be absurd to assume that European governments do not want peace in Ukraine, but it must not be peace dictated by the imperialist strongman in Moscow. The naive protesters do not understand that only Europe's ironclad commitment to Ukraine and continuous military support will create the basis for meaningful negotiations, and prevent Putin from invading even more countries. It is understandable that many people are worried, but the free world must not allow the Kremlin dictator to create new realities by military means.

Predictions