Ukrainians ask Portuguese to remember Russian aggression when voting in Europeans – News

With many Ukrainian and Portuguese flags and the motto “A United Europe from Kiev to Lisbon”, around 30 Ukrainians participated today in the demonstration organized by the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal (ACP), whose leader Pavlo Sadokha expressed gratitude to Lusa of the community for the support of most Portuguese political parties in relation to Ukraine and condemnation of Russian aggression, in February 2022.

“Today, we are here in this square to ask the Portuguese, who will soon vote for deputies from the political parties that will represent Portugal in the European Union, to choose the parties that want peace in Europe, that want to help defend Europe against Russian aggression and who want to see Ukraine in the European Union”, said Sadokha.

“Some parties, like PS and PSD, want to help Ukraine and we are very grateful to these biggest political parties, who since the beginning of the large-scale invasion [pela Rússia] They have always supported Ukraine and have always supported receiving refugees from Ukraine,” he said.

Ukrainian protester Lyudmyla Panasyuk told Lusa that most Portuguese “are good people, they support and understand that war is a very bad thing for society”, but lamented that some are “collaborating with Russians and Russian embassies”.

Lyudmyla recalled the efforts of Ukrainian soldiers, including her son, who is at the front.

“My son is in combat, on the front line. They are exhausted and we are tired too. If we think about them, we have to look for resources to continue fighting”, he told Lusa.

Mykola Shymonyak, also a Ukrainian protester, highlighted the importance of Ukraine’s presence in the EU.

“We are here united, on Europe Day, to show that Europe is not just” the current member countries, and that Ukraine itself would very much like to be in the European Union”, he told Lusa.

As a Portuguese citizen, Mykola will vote in the European elections, but if Ukraine joins the EU, he would “gladly” vote as a Ukrainian citizen.

The elections for the European Parliament will take place between June 6th and 9th, with the last day being the day on which the Portuguese will go to the polls to choose their 21 representatives.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, with the argument of protecting pro-Russian separatist minorities in the east and “denazifying” the neighboring country, independent since 1991, after the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, and which has been move away from Moscow’s space of influence and get closer to Europe and the West.

The war in Ukraine has already caused tens of thousands of deaths on both sides, and the two belligerents remain unyielding in their territorial positions and are not open to negotiating concessions.

Recent months have been marked by large-scale Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, while Kiev’s forces have targeted targets on Russian territory close to the border and on the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed in 2014.

Already in the third year of war, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been faced with a lack of soldiers and weapons and ammunition, despite repeated promises of help from Western allies.