Ukraine conflict: protesters gather for demonstration in Birmingham

Demonstrators gathered in Birmingham city centre this evening (28 February) to protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Organised by Birmingham Stop the War Coalition, around 100 people took part in the protest outside the Bullring at 5pm despite heavy rain coming down during the rally.

The demonstration was held to oppose the expansion of NATO, and to demand that Russia withdraw its troops and resume diplomatic negotiations to resolve the crisis.

Speaking to BirminghamWorld, attendees Earl and Pablo, who both have family in Ukraine, gave their views on the current situation and spoke of concerns for family members in the war zone.

Earl said: “I’m British Ukrainian, my dad’s Ukrainian. Obviously with the situation now we are really concerned for the innocent Ukrainian people.

“We want to come out and show our support and make people aware of what’s happening in Ukraine and get everyone in support and unity over this situation.”

Discussing what life is currently like for his family in Ukraine at the moment, Pablo told BirminghamWorld: “Right now thankfully they are safe, they are on the west of the country but they can still hear the sirens and the bombings going on, so I can’t say that it’s 100% safe.”

You can watch the full interviews in the video above.

The protest comes after hundreds of people attended a vigil in Birmingham on Sunday evening (27 February) to show solidarity with Ukraine.

The event was organised by the city’s Polish community and took place in Victoria Square, and many of those who attended had placards showing support for Ukraine.

‘The conflict is the product of thirty years of failed policies’

Prior to this evening’s protest (28 February), Birmingham Stop the War Coalition organiser, Adam Yosef, said: “Stop the War condemns the movement of Russian forces into eastern Ukraine and urges that they immediately withdraw, alongside the resumption of diplomatic negotiations to resolve the crisis.

“This dispute could and should be resolved peacefully, and that remains the only basis for a lasting settlement, rather than the imposition of military solutions. That it has not been resolved is not, however, the responsibility of the Russian or Ukrainian governments alone.

“The conflict is the product of thirty years of failed policies, including the expansion of NATO and US hegemony at the expense of other countries as well as major wars of aggression by the USA, Britain and other NATO powers which have undermined international law and the United Nations.

“We send our solidarity to all those campaigning for an end to the war, often under very difficult conditions, in Russia and Ukraine. Stop the War can best support them by demanding a change in Britain’s own policy, which can be seen to have failed.”

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. BirminghamWorld is Birmingham’s latest news website, championing everything that is great about our city - reporting on news, lifestyle and sport. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going.