Hundreds protest against Russia in front of embassy building in London

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – Hundreds of protesters with Ukrainian flags gathered in front of the Russian Embassy building in London on Wednesday and called on Moscow to stop military action in Ukrainian territory.

Carrying banners and placards, they urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to end deployments in Donbas and Luhansk, two rebel regions recognized as independent states by the Kremlin earlier this week.

“Putin, hands off Ukraine!” and “Freedom to Ukraine!” they shouted, urging Western countries to announce more sanctions to stop Russia.

Yulia, a Ukrainian protester, said support for her country by Western states is “much better than in 2014,” when Russia annexed Crimea, another region in Ukraine.

“Now they realize the full extent of the threat,” she said.

She said that Western leaders have now realized that Putin was not aiming at constructive dialogue “by recognizing illegally occupied Ukrainian regions.”

“He just wants Ukraine, effectively,” Yulia added.

Natalia, who was clearly upset with the latest developments in her country, was also among the protesters. She said she worked as a teacher for 28 years, calling for an end to war.

Another protester, Marina, also from Ukraine, said she was at the rally because “it is not ok to invade countries in this day and age.”

“We (Ukraine) are not part of Russia. We are an independent state” with its own culture, she added.

Putin on Monday announced that Moscow was recognizing two eastern Ukrainian breakaway regions as “independent” states, followed quickly by an order sending Russian forces there to “maintain peace.”

The announcements drew widespread global condemnation as violations of the UN Charter and international law, with Western countries announcing new sanctions on Russia.

In 2014, after invading Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, Moscow began to support separatist forces in eastern Ukraine against the central government, a policy that it has maintained since then. The conflict has taken more than 13,000 lives, according to the UN.

Putin's latest moves follow Russia’s amassing of some 100,000 troops and heavy equipment in and around its neighbor, with the US and Western countries accusing it of setting the stage for an invasion.

Russia has denied that it is preparing an invasion and instead claims that Western countries undermined its security through NATO’s expansion towards its borders.

Ukraine declared a state of emergency beginning at midnight Wednesday for the entire nation except the separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Its parliament approved the measure, which will initially last 30 days.