A march organized by Russian opposition exiled leaders Yulia Navalnaya, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Ilya Yashin in protest against Russia's war in Ukraine began in Berlin on Nov. 17.
The event's participants are calling for Russia's withdrawal from Ukraine, the release of political prisoners, and to try Putin as a war criminal, Deutsche Welle reported.
The event, which had been planned in advance, took place the same day as Russia launched one of its largest strikes on Ukrainian cities and the energy grid, killing and injuring civilians.
While the German police estimated the initial number of participants to be 1,800, the independent news outlet Meduza counted up to 6,000-7,000 people. The march moved from the Potsdamer Platz (Square) to the Brandenburg Gate, ending the procession at the nearby Russian embassy building. Navalnaya, Kara-Murza, and Yashin were in attendance.
Navalnaya took up a more visible public role after the death of her husband, Alexei Navalny, in a Russian penal colony in February. She has directly accused Vladimir Putin of being responsible for her husband's death.
Kara-Murza and Yashin, who were jailed in Russia as political prisoners, were released on Aug. 1 in a large-scale prisoner swap between Moscow and the West.
Videos shared by the media show participants waving both Ukrainian and blue-and-white Russian opposition flags and chanting "No to war," "Putin is a murderer," and "Russia without Putin." Others held banners with pro-Ukrainian statements, such as "Ukraine's victory is also ours" and "We stand with Ukraine."
According to Deutsche Welle, an incident broke out when two participants brought the tricolor of the Russian Federation to the march, leading to angry protests from other demonstrators.
"Putin is not Russia. Russia is us. We are against the war, against aggression. We support free, peaceful Russia," Yashin said in a speech.
Russian opposition leaders have denounced the war and Putin's regime but have also come under criticism from Ukraine for calling for reduced sanctions against Russia as a whole, urging instead more targeted measures against the leadership.
Asked in an interview with the German outlet Zeit whether it is correct to supply arms to Ukraine, Navalnaya responded: "It's difficult to say. The war was unleashed by Vladimir Putin, but the bombs are hitting Russians too."
"All Russian troops must be withdrawn from the territory of Ukraine immediately. The war must end immediately," she added.
Oleksii Makeiev, Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, called the march "dignified and inconsequential" and a "PR campaign whose target group is not the Russian population, but German media and politicians."
Andrew Chakhoyan
(Updated: )
