People brought several everyday items, like washing machines, teddy bears, and clothes to the Russian embassy and used them to block the entry in symbolic manner. Demonstrators brought the objects to draw attention to the fact that Russian soldiers allegedly raped and killed civilians before looting their homes for valuable goods.
Olena Klopota, spokesperson for non-profit organisation LUkraine, stated: “We have witnessed medieval and barbaric practices, and there is evidence for it, like recorded phone conversations.” Russian soldiers later sent looted goods from Ukraine to Belarus. Klopota showed pictures that depict soldiers believed to have participated in this behaviour.
Family members later sell the items online, Klopota further explained: “If this is the reason for invading us, to steal our laundry, dishwashers, and dirty underwear, then we can help. This is why we brought all those items here today, the Russians can send them back home and then leave Ukraine in peace.”
Many of the protestors were women and children who have fled from the war in Ukraine. Our colleagues from RTL spoke to some of them about their mixed feelings for the situation.
Svitlana came to the Grand Duchy with her youngest son while her eldest stayed in Kyiv to fight for their home. She explained that she is proud of her son: “He will soon be 22. He did not stay because he was not allowed to leave the country, but because he wanted to do so.”
Viktoriia fled the Donbas region with her niece while all of her male relatives had to stay behind. She fears that the area will experience heavy fighting: “We know that Putin and the Russian army want to take the Donbas region, they consider it Russian soil. But that is not true! People from the area love Ukraine, and we consider ourselves Ukrainians. It is our country and we do not want any Russians.”
The rest of the world has to ostracise the Russian economy, argued many of those who gathered outside the embassy. To encourage those fighting for their home, they wrote messages on Luxembourgish flags, which they will then send to Ukraine.
