On July 23, the Union of Ukrainians in France again brought Parisians to the streets to support Ukraine and denounce russia and its atrocious crimes. “Russie – État terroriste!” the protesters yelled. “Russia is a terrorist state!”
“Russia kills Ukrainians every day!” Orsa Chorna, one of participants in the march, wrote in a Facebook post in its wake. “When you drink coffee, eat your food. When you go to the movies, when you enjoy life with your children – our children are dying! Therefore, we ask you to be in solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Please do not ‘get tired.’ We ask you to stop sponsoring the russian crimes – ENGIE, TotalEnergies, LEROY MERLIN, Auchan. We ask for more arms to protect our children.
“They kill us at a bus stop, in a mall, and in a park; when we go to buy bread, when we harvest wheat, and when we are in a hospital. The russians kill us to wipe out our nation. They rape our children to death in front of their parents. They rape Ukrainian women, saying that now they cannot bring Ukrainian children into this world.
“We demand to STOP RUSSIAN GENOCIDE IN UKRAINE!
“We ask you to #StandWithUkraine.”
Besides #russie_etat_terroriste, #stop_genocide_russe_en_ukraine, and #crimedeguerre, the hashtags used for the action also included ones dedicated to specific cities, such as #JeSuisKharkiv, #JeSuisKyiv, #JeSuisVinnitsa, #JeSuisKramatorsk, #JeSuisMaroupol, #JeSuisKherson, #JeSuisSlovyansk, #JeSuisPoltava, #JeSuisMykolaiv, #JeSuisTchernigiv, #JeSuisSoumy, #JeSuisZaporizzya, #JeSuisBachmut, #JeSuisLviv, #JeSuisCherkasy, #JeSuisIrpyn, #JeSuisBoutcha, #JeSuisGistomel, and #JeSuisLutsk
The Union of Ukrainians in France was founded in 1949 by Ukrainians liberated from Nazi extermination camps and forced labor camps in Germany and Austria. The UUF founders also include Ukrainians who fought in the Polish army of Gen. Anders in the Battle of Monte Cassino, Ukrainians who resided in France before WWII and served in the French Foreign Legion, and members of Ukrainian detachments of the French Resistance.
Photos and video: Volodymyr Kogutyak; Oksa Chorna
