Each afternoon in Istanbul, pro-Ukrainian demonstrators gather to wave flags and shout anti-war slogans.Francisco Seco/The Associated Press
Dozens of demonstrators, including Ukrainians living in Istanbul and Russians who fled their country recently, protested together in Turkey on Saturday, demanding an end to the war and calling on the international community to do more to restore peace.
In Istanbul’s Beyoglu neighbourhood, protesters waved flags and held signs comparing Russian President Vladimir Putin to Hitler. The group has been protesting every afternoon since the start of the Ukraine invasion. A smaller contingent gathers in front of the nearby Russian consulate, where Turkish authorities have cordoned off an area with enough room for about 10 people.
“First of all, we are here to express our pain for Ukraine,” said Iryna Hurol, 33. She said she is from the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, and that although she has lived in Istanbul for 10 years, her “soul is in Ukraine.”
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“I have my family and I want them to be protected. I want the world to hear our voice. … As we say: Today it’s our turn, but what will be tomorrow?”
Ms. Hurol said she has tried to convince her relatives in Ukraine to leave the country, but so far, they have decided to stay. “They say we have nowhere to go, this is our country, this is our house and we have nowhere to go and we want to be here. We want to live on our land happily and independently.”
“I hope somebody will hear my voice, my desperate voice,” she said.
A few Russians who had just fled their country joined the protest on Saturday. In front of the Russian consulate, Rita Mikhno, 31, said she and her husband had arrived in Turkey on Friday.
In Russia, she said, she had been accused of being a Nazi because of her Ukrainian surname. Russian President Vladimir Putin has attempted to justify his invasion of Ukraine by saying the war will “denazify” the country.
“We’re scared for our life, and I’m scared about my relatives because I can’t help them,” Ms. Mikhno said. In St. Petersburg, she added, she had seen a policeman beat and detain an elderly woman who was protesting against the war.
Ms. Mikhno said officers at the airport in St. Petersburg questioned her decision to leave and searched through her and her husband’s cellphones.
“They don’t want people to leave from the country … and flights cost so much we even sold our things,” she said.
On Friday, Russia’s biggest private airline, S7, announced it was ceasing all international fights as of Saturday, after the sector was hit by sanctions from Western countries. The European Union, the United States, Canada and other countries have said they are closing their airspace to Russian aircraft.
Ilia Zibrov, 31, said he had also fled to Istanbul from Russia a few days ago. He said it was important for him to leave, because he was fearful he would be conscripted into the Russian army.
“I don’t want to fight with Ukrainians. It’s impossible for me,” he said. Mr. Zibrov said he also does not want to end up in jail, or pay taxes to the Russian government to finance the war.
Following one of the protests earlier this week, Oskana Kurinna, from central Ukraine, said she has been encouraging Russia’s diaspora to protest and raise money for Ukraine. “We should win this war. … We should get money for recovery for building, because homes are ruined and civil infrastructure is ruined,” she said.
Her 70-year-old grandmother was born during the Second World War, lived a hard life, and is now sitting at home, unable to walk and hearing Russian airplanes all night long, she added.
“I want to kill the Russian economy and I want to kill the ideologies that Russia can do whatever they want,” Ms. Kurinna said.
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