AP PHOTOS: Rallies in US demand Russia end Ukraine invasion
Demonstrators around the world denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, waving Ukrainian flags as they joined thousands of shocked Russians who held rallies of their own to demand that Russian President Vladimir Putin end the attack.
From Santiago, Chile, to Vilnius, Lithuania, protesters waved the Ukrainian flag, hoisted homemade “Putin Hands Off Ukraine" signs and, in some places, sang Ukraine's national anthem. Some Ukrainians living abroad prayed for the safety of their loved ones.
In New York, protestors chanted “Stand with Ukraine” and “Stop the War” in gatherings in Times Square and near the Russian Federation’s mission to the United Nations. Many held Ukrainian flags, from small handheld versions to a massive flag they carried through the streets.
Signs against Putin were everywhere. One read: “Putin, hands off Ukraine.” A young child held up a similar sign at a rally in Vancouver, British Columbia.
In Vilnius, Lithuania, protestors burned a Russian passport. In Russia, more than 1,700 people were detained at rallies in 53 Russian cities, at least 940 of them in Moscow.
In Chicago, about 100 people, many of them waving Ukrainian flags, lined an overpass on the city’s North Side. The city has one of the largest concentrations of Ukrainians in the U.S.
Several of them said they had just spoken to loved ones in Ukraine - all telling similar stories about their families reporting the sounds of bombs, rattling windows and of being trapped where they were because the roads were choked with cars driven by people trying to flee.
Chicago immigration attorney Natalia Blauvelt said it was a busy, emotional day, with many calls from Ukrainian clients, potential clients and friends, reaching out to understand their options, hours after Putin launched the invasion of their native country.
“They are absolutely devastated, extremely sad,” she said. “They are panicking because of what is happening in Ukraine, and many of them don’t know what to do and help their relatives.”