Hundreds of protesters gathered in Radcliffe Square this afternoon to demonstrate against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Around 800 people attended the protest, which was organised by the University of Oxford’s Ukrainian Society, and waved flags, chanted and held up placards.
Many of the people at the protest wore yellow and blue clothing, ribbons and painted the Ukrainian flag on their cheeks.
READ MORE: Oxford City Council temporarily ends its twin status with Russian city
The protest started at 1pm and crowds filled part of Radcliffe Square.
The protesters were mainly gathered at the entrance to the square from Catte Street, next to All Souls College Chapel.
The rally featured speakers from the university’s Ukrainian Society who spoke about their families and friends in Ukraine and their experiences since Russia invaded the country.
People from Belarus and Russia also addressed the crowd and spoke out against the war.
After the speakers had finished, the crowd sang the Ukrainian national anthem. This was lead by the Ukrainian protesters and English speakers were provided with a lyric sheet written in phonetic English.
Lena Zlock, a DPhil candidate in education at the University of Oxford, was helping the society gather donations at the protest.
She described the number of people in attendance as a “wonderful turn out” and explained the protest had a “two-fold goal”.
She said: “The first is to show people that they can, in fact, do something. Sometimes it is crazy to feel helpless in light of such a big crisis. The second is to spread awareness and to, of course, make it very real for people on the ground here in Oxford.
“It is a wonderful turn out with people from so many different nationalities. We had a great turn out last weekend and we are hoping for the same this weekend. We have had so many donations, it has been really great.”
The protest comes as efforts to evacuate civilians from the southern city of Mariupol have been halted for the second time, due to Russian shelling.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been condemned internationally, with countries around the world imposing sanctions on Russia.
Many UK based businesses and organisations have cut their ties with Russia, including Oxford City Council which on Friday announced it would be temporarily ending its twinning agreement with Perm.
In a statement, the council states that leader of Oxford City Council, Susan Brown, has taken steps to end Oxford’s twin status with Perm “until such time as Russia’s breaches of international law cease”.
The university’s Ukrainian society urged people at the protest to donate money to charity’s working in Ukraine and donate clothing and other items which are in need in the country.
-
Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
For news updates straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here
Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on news@nqo.com or 01865 425 445.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel