As Russian troops pushed further into Ukraine on Thursday, hundreds in London attended a demonstration outside Downing Street to protest the invasion.
Many were dressed in the Ukrainian national colours of yellow and blue, with groups of tearful people comforting each other alongside those who simply expressed disbelief and shock at the unfolding situation in the country.
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“I woke up today at 5 in the morning and people just told me that they are bombing my city,” 18-year-old student Yeva Novitska told VICE.
Thousands of people are fleeing Ukraine ahead of advancing Russian forces, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning of enemy “sabotage groups” already in the capital Kyiv.
Anti-war protests have taken place all over the world in the hours since the Russian invasion began, with people taking to the streets in Italy, Germany, France, Poland, Japan, Turkey, Montenegro and Lebanon. In Russia, riot police detained and arrested at least 1,745 people across the country after similar demonstrations took place.
While most of the crowd were Ukrainian, there was also a small number of Russian and Georgian people in attendance. “I am here because I am against the actions of Russia that’s been taken tonight,” Sergei Voitvoich, a 27-year-old software engineer, told VICE.
Other protesters said they believed Ukraine would prevail in the war. “I believe that Ukraine will survive,” said Valeriy Coretnic, 47. “But Putin will be gone.”
VICE photographer Bex Wade went to Downing Street to speak to people at the protest.
Yuliia Tereshchuk, 23, hedge fund quantitive researcher
VICE: Why are you here today?
Yuliia Tereshchuk: We’re here to urge the British government to support Ukraine, to send peacekeepers to the country now, to introduce a no-fly zone over Ukraine and to save Ukraine.
How did you first hear about the invasion and what were you doing at the time?
I found out this morning. I woke up as usual and was told that Russia has invaded Ukraine. However, this happened back in 2014, so the war didn’t start now – the war started [with the Russian annexation of Crimea] eight years ago.
How did you feel hearing about it?
I was shocked. Until the last moment, I did not believe that this was going to happen. I believed that Europe, NATO, USA, UK and all the peacekeeping institutions would do something to prevent this from happening. It is insane to have a war in the 21st century, [in] 2022.
What do you think the UK government should do?
First thing is that the UK government has to uphold its international agreement – the Budapest Agreement of 1994 – where it said that it would protect Ukrainian sovereignty and Ukrainian borders. They have to uphold their promise by sending troops and peacekeepers back into Ukraine so that they can help us resist Russia.
How does this situation affect you or people you know?
My family back in the Ukraine […] are staying there, including my grandma, and they said they would die for Ukraine –as will every Ukrainian.
What message would you like to send to the people of Ukraine? And to Putin?
I would like to tell all Ukrainians that we are strong and we will resist Putin’s war. I don’t want to say anything to Putin – I want to say something to Russian people. I want to tell them to go out to the streets and protest against Putin’s war because it’s not a Russian war – it’s Putin’s war.
Anna Smith, 36, consultant
VICE: How did you find out about the invasion?
ANNA SMITH: I was asleep and for some reason I woke up at 3AM and checked Facebook. I saw a couple of posts and it started from there. We turned on the BBC and got in touch with [our] parents. They live not that far away from the airport in Kyiv.
What was your reaction hearing the news?
Sad. I don’t know –angry at Russia, very stressed. I don’t know how to explain [it]. It’s something that I wish no one felt.
What should the UK government should do?
Put sanctions, cut off the money, impose financial crime law, do something about money laundering, freeze the money that’s already here, including for the children of Russians whose lives are in the UK. They also have apartments here – the majority are empty, that should be dealt with as well.
How does this all affect the people you know?
Well, my family are somewhere [in] their house hiding. My relative –she moved from Crimea to Kyiv and now she has to deal with it again. My grandmother was evacuated during the Second World War and now she’s remembered all of that. We told them to buy food, but we don’t know how they are doing with that. It’s impacting everyone’s lives.
What message would you like to say to people in Ukraine? And to Putin?
Be strong and and believe in our army. And to Putin, go f*ck yourself.
Valeriy Coretnic, 47, photographer
Why are you here today?
Valeriy Coretnic: I’m here to join the protest because Putin is crazy… and it could affect all of Europe.It’s very important to take a firm stance, and I think this country needs to stand firmly with Ukraine now. We need to cut Russia from [international financial system] SWIFT and we want just to stop war. Ukraine is a peaceful country and we don’t want war.
How did you first hear about the invasion?
My friend called me from Kyiv at 3AM UK time –he said he’d seen a missile across the sky and it was horrible.
And how did you feel hearing about it?
I feel rage. It’s worrying, it’s scary. I believe that Ukraine will survive, but Putin will be gone.
What do you think the government here should do?
I think the UK government should send people to Ukraine and the UK government can discuss with allies to cut off Russia from the SWIFT system. It could be a very severe sanction. Before it was just mediocre sanctions –sanctions for nothing.
What message would you like to send to the people of Ukraine? And to Putin?
Stay firm. I believe Ukraine deserves peace and Ukrainians to live a peaceful life. I want to tell Putin to go away. I want to say to Russian people: You need to stand back because Putin really is [a] criminal. He will kill himself and a lot of people. In Russia, he is just the enemy of democracy. If Russians want to live a democratic life, they must stop Putin.
Yeva Novitska, 18, student
VICE: Why are you protesting today?
Yeva Novitska: I’m here because I want to support my country. I want people to finally understand that it’s not just a threat and it’s actually happening. Our families and our country is in danger.
What was your first reaction?
I feel guilty for being here in the UK. I feel so embarrassed and guilty that I have no opportunity to help – that’s why I’m here today as well. I feel like I need to be [in Ukraine] but unfortunately at this point I cannot even get there.
How should the UK government react to this?
The sanctions so far are not enough, for sure. I know that there’s a discussion about making more. I think they need to do more because it’s not just a threat for us [Ukrainians], it’s a threat for them as well.
How does the situation affect you and people you know?
Everyone is stressed, everyone doesn’t know what to do. At this point, even being over here, we don’t know how to plan our day. We don’t know how to plan tomorrow, we don’t know how to plan next month and we just don’t know what to do.
What would you like to tell people in Ukraine? What about Putin?
We all should unite and stop all the panic, we should control fake news, and we should fight. We are fighting and we should keep fighting. I would like to tell Putin: Go f*ck yourself.
Sergei Voitvoich, 27, software engineer
VICE: What made you decide to attend the protest?
Sergei Voitvoich: I am here because I am against the actions of Russia that’s been taken tonight. I am Russian.
What were you doing when you found out about the invasion?
I was asleep and my phone was vibrating in the morning because my friend from Ukraine was forwarding messages about their families and what was happening to them there.
How did that make you feel?
Terrified and devastated. I saw it coming –it was in the air – but it’s really hard to be prepared for that kind of thing.
How should the government in the UK respond to this?
Start by cutting off Russian technologies and infrastructure in Europe. Take measures against rich billionaires who steal money in Russia and bring it to the UK and spend it here. Those people make life in Russia miserable while they enjoy stolen money abroad in places like Switzerland and London.
How does this situation affect you or people you know?
My friend with me here now is chatting constantly to her family in the city she was born in Ukraine [about] the situation there. I am just terrified to see the messages they are exchanging. They basically discussed ten minutes ago that the flag in the city she was born in just changed from Ukrainian to Russian. I almost cannot find words to express what I’m feeling.
What message would you like to send to the people of Ukraine? And to Putin?
I really want them to believe that most people with hearts [sic] in the world are with them, and it’s not that the entire world has gone mad. Not everyone thinks that invading other countries is a reasonable thing to do. I want them to know that the majority of people think this is outrageous and should never have happened in the first place.
I don’t think Putin can be reasoned with with words, he is properly mad. I don’t have anything to say to him.
Anton Volobyk, 30, startup worker
VICE: What made you attend this protest?
Anton Volobyk: We’re here today to protest against Russia and what they are doing to our country.We would ideally be in Ukraine now with our parents and friends, but we are looking for other ways to support our country. One way is to express how concerned we are and to urge the UK government to help us more, because I think it’s a matter for the whole world and not just a matter for Ukraine any more.
When did you first hear about the invasion?
It was 4AM. We were sleeping at home and then we started getting messages […] from our friends and family that the invasion had started. Since then, we haven’t been able to relax – we are monitoring the news and searching for easy to help the Ukrainian army and to donate money.
What was your first emotion hearing about it?
The first was anger and the second was being extremely alert and focused on what can we do. In Ukraine, I believe, the majority of people don’t panic. When we’re spoken to friends and family, everyone is ready to defend their country.
What do you think the UK government should do right now?
I mean obviously, military help is probably the best thing we can get now. We, of course, would welcome any military supplies.
How does this situation affect you or people you know?
I mean, it’s pretty bad. Everyone is stressed. No one [I know in Ukraine] went to work today, obviously. Some people are trying to buy gas and food, the other people are trying to get guns and sign up for the Territorial Defence Unit. Everyone is completely focused on the situation. It’s a war, a full-scale war.
What would you like to tell the people of Ukraine? And Putin?
Ukraine is a big country and there are also a lot of people abroad. Every person abroad is trying to help, trying to tell the real story, trying to urge more support. My message is that we’re huge and no matter what Putin thinks, it would be impossible to destroy Ukraine as a nation. I think we will win in the end.
