Warning in the sign of a new war: With commemorative events and rallies, people in many places in Germany commemorated the end of the Second World War in Europe 77 years ago. In Berlin alone there were dozens of events on Sunday. In view of the war in Ukraine, the police were deployed in large numbers to prevent possible conflicts and to curb pro-Russian pro-war activities. There were no major incidents until the evening.
Nevertheless: In Cologne, the Ukraine war brought thousands to the streets for very different reasons. In the morning there was a motorcycle parade through the outskirts of the cathedral city, in which, according to the police, around 150 people expressed their support for Russia. Later, around 1,000 people gathered in several hundred vehicles at Fühlinger See on the outskirts of the city for a motorcade – among them were many supporters of the Russian head of state Vladimir Putin. In the late afternoon, a pro-Ukraine demonstration took place at the Deutz shipyard, to which 10,000 people had registered.
Elena Kolbasnikova organized the motorcade. She tells the Bild newspaper that Ukraine “has been waging a war against the peaceful population of Donbass since 2014”. Similar to the propaganda spread by the Kremlin, it accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of being “controlled by the Nazis”. (with dpa).
