“Panic does not help. We must unite and fight for our independence,” said student Maria Shcherpenko, holding a placard reading “I will remain calm. I love Ukraine.”
As for the Novosilsky family, who came to demonstrate with their daughters, Zuriana (7 years old) and Roma (4 years), who were waving the Ukrainian flag, they said, “We are here to show that we are not afraid.”
Nevertheless, they take the threats seriously: they have finally bought fire extinguishers, light bulbs and provisions, and they have made a plan to escape to shelters near their home and workplace.
To the sound of the national anthem: “We will sacrifice soul and body for our freedom,” the demonstration began in the red building of the National University of Chevchenko and ended on Independence Square, the center of two pro-Western revolutions in 2005 and 2014.
“United Ukraine”, “Glory to the fatherland and death to the enemies” and “Ukrainians will resist,” chanted the demonstrators.
On a banner bearing the tag “Putin is a war criminal”, a picture of the Russian president was raised with a question mark, along with crossed out pictures of former Iraqi presidents Saddam Hussein, Serbian Slobodan Milosevic and Libyan Muammar Gaddafi.
Other signs pointed to Ukraine’s membership in NATO, while Vladimir Putin, who has massed more than 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, requires ensuring that this never happens to de-escalate.
“Who is Putin to tell us what to do?” said Natalia Savostikova, a 67-year-old doctor. And Oleksiy Tkachenko, a 70-year-old pensioner, held a banner reading “To NATO, immediately.”