Two years of illegal war against Ukraine

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  It is now two years that Russia tried to invade Ukraine and started an illegal war against its people. Russia has attacked hospitals, homes, destroyed the city of Mariopol, murdered the people of Bucha, attacked food storage in Odesa, destroyed the Kakhovka Dam to use it as a weapon of war... Yet Putin survives, yet the Kremlin's rule continues...  Russia invaded the neighbor country Ukraine and remains with impunity seating at the UN Security Council and other UN functions... pulling strings in the global economy...   I still have hope that the good people will win and there will be justice, but it is crazy that it is taking so long. It is not acceptable that a country illegally invades another, kills, rapes, destroys, ignores all human rights and remains with impunity... in the XXI century. The world cannot allow this, it is too barbaric!
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Russia is doing battle with Ukraine in many fronts, including in foreign PR

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Demonstration of solidarity with the people of Ukraine, Bonn, Germany, 24-02-2023

Since Russia tried to invade Ukraine on February 2022, Russia has doing battle with Ukraine in many fronts, including in foreign public relations across countries in Europe, to counteract the spontaneous solidarity movements in support of the people of Ukraine. Here are a couple of examples.

Peaceful demonstration of solidarity with the people of Ukraine

On the 24th of February 2023 there was a peaceful demonstration of solidarity with the people of Ukraine held in front of Bonn's City Hall, Germany, co-organized with the participation of multiple legal political parties in Germany and several civil society and humanitarian organizations.  

These included: BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN Bonn, CDU Bonn, SPD Bonn, FDP Bonn, GRÜNE Jugend Bonn, Junge Liberale Bonn, Ukraine Hilfe Bonn, Freies Bündnis Bonner Aktivist*innen / Ukraine Bonn Informiert, WePlay4Ukraine, DGB Kreisverband Bonn/Rhein-Sieg, UniBonn.UA, Dr. Margret Traub, Synagogengemeinde Bonn, Evangelischer Kirchenkreis Bonn, Diakonisches Werk Bonn und Region, Kath. Stadtdekanat Bonn, ZeSaBo, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Bonn, Ausbildung statt Abschiebung (AsA) e.V., Der Runde Tisch Flüchtlingshilfe Bad Godesberg, and  Kirchengemeindeverband Bad Godesberg.

This demonstration included speeches from several distinguished individuals and organizations, including the Mayor of the City of Bonn, Katja Dörner, acknowledging the humanitarian work that the citizens and organizations in the community have been carrying out to welcome the approximately 4000 Ukrainians that had fled the war, most of them children, women and elderly, and that have found refuge in Bonn. It also acknowledged Ukraine's right to self defense against the foreign aggressor and it was recalled that "If Russia stops fighting, the war ends; if Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine ends". 

Some of the moments of this demonstration included one minute of silence for the victims of this illegal invasion that Russia has been leading against Ukraine and the display of children's shoes to remember the more than 400 children that have been killed as a result of Russia's attacks against Ukraine's territory and against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and schools.

Children' shoes are displayed during demonstration of solidarity with the people of Ukraine to remember the over 400 children killed by Russia's attacks against Ukrainian hospitals and schools

Minute of silence for the victims of the Russian attacks against the people of Ukraine on 24-02-2023 in Bonn, Germany, with the Mayor Katja Dörner



A Russian-sponsored counter demonstration? 

At the same time that the demonstration mentioned above was taking place, a parallel demonstration was going on to protest against giving weapons to Ukraine to defend itself from Russia's attacks, trying to influence the decision of the German government. Was this second demonstration Russian-sponsored? I have absolutely no proof of this, but I believe so. Why? Firstly, this second demonstration was loud, using drums and a megaphone, and tried to disrupt the demonstration of solidarity with the people of Ukraine - an attempt which was blocked by the police - and referred to NATO, always present in Russia's argumentation for its illegal war. Secondly, there were several young men around this demonstration wearing the same black jacket with a logo with a red globe, suggesting some kind of organization behind it. Thirdly, I took a picture of the demonstration and to my surprise not even one single face is visible - it does not seem like a regular public demonstration - see photo below. 

A demonstration to advocate agains Germany providing weapons for Ukraine to defend itself against Russia's attacks

Also around this time, a museum in the City of Bonn, the Frauenmuseum, hosted a presentation on the significance of the color red in the Russian art and culture, speaking about things such as Putin's long red carpet. Honestly, if Russia had not invaded Ukraine, I would have been curious and interested to attend to the presentation. As Russia has taken this unforgivable, disproportionate and unjustifiable use of force against other independent country and people, Ukraine, I did not go. Maybe the presentation was just prepared by a scholar, but its use during times of war cannot be seen as impartial or naive. Propaganda has long been used in times of war for multiple purposes such as to try to influence neutral countries, provide a moral justification for war or to try to weaken the morale of the enemy. 

Propaganda is a weapon of war.

In my view Russia's propaganda efforts should not be taken lightly or turned a blind eye. Complacency and complicity are very closely related. Feel free to leave your views and comments below.


  

Location: Germany

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