Four activists from the Led By Donkeys group were arrested after painting the road in the colors of the Ukrainian flag outside the Russian embassy in London. Armed with wheelbarrows, the activists unloaded 170 liters of blue and yellow paint to occupy an area of ??almost 500 square meters, crisscrossed by the red of double-decker buses in both directions.
“Seeing this flag will serve to remind the Russians that Ukraine is an independent state and that it has the right to self-determination,” could be read in a protest message on Twitter from Led By Donkeys, an anti-Brexit group that emerged in 2018 that occasionally stars in street actions against the British Government.
The paint, which was spread on the fly by cars driving through the Kensington neighborhood, is “non-toxic, easy to dissolve and dry, friendly to the environment and even edible,” the activists warned. The street performance had a wide echo on social networks and attracted hundreds of onlookers and sympathizers of the Ukrainian cause during the day on the first anniversary of the war.
The UK held a minute’s silence in memory of the victims at noon on Friday. Prime Minister Sunak hung a wreath of blue and yellow flowers at the entrance to 10 Downing Street and posed next to the Ukrainian ambassador, Vadym Prystaiko.
“As we remember the year of the war in the center of our continent, I want everyone to reflect on the bravery and valor of our Ukrainian friends who have heroically fought for their country,” Sunak said. “I am proud that the UK has stood shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine during this horrible conflict. I extend my condolences to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend freedom and a return to peace in Europe.”
The event in Downing Street was joined by dozens of Ukrainian soldiers in uniform who are receiving training in the British Isles, especially for handling the 14 Challenger 2 tanks that the British Government will send to Kiev in March.
“The Challengers are going to have a big impact,” Defense Secretary Ben Wallace predicted on a visit to the “Ukrainian camp” in Dorset. “We are going to continue supporting their military capacity for as long as it takes,” said Wallace, who, however, warned that the shipment of Typhoon fighters that President Zelenski claimed as he passed through London would not be immediate.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his part participated in a religious ceremony at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, next to Oxford Street, and lit one of the 52 candles for each week of the war. “We are paying tribute to all who have paid with his life since Putin launched this horrible and illegal invasion,” Johnson wrote on his Twitter account.
Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski officiated at the moving ceremony that brought together representatives from all religious communities in the UK. Nowakowski recalled the impact of his recent visit to places like Irpin and Bucha… “Nothing can prepare you to see destruction on that scale, including schools and hospitals. The loss of human life has been terrible, and what worries me most is the future of children and young people who have lived through all this and who cannot think beyond surviving from day to day. Everything we do from here is little to help them regain hope for the future.”
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
