Over 50 people demonstrated in Lisbon yesterday, demanding an end to the war in Ukraine and chanting “Fascism equals racism,” at the initiative of the Ukrainian diaspora on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The initiative took place near the Russian Embassy in Lisbon and brought together dozens of people with flags of Ukraine, the European Union (EU), and Portugal, who commemorated the date of the end of the war in Europe in the 20th century.
Activists also stated that Russia is now following the same path as Hitler’s regime in Nazi Germany.
Pavlo Sadokha, head of the Union of Ukrainians in Portugal, noted in an interview with the Lusa agency that the war on Ukrainian territory, which has been going on for over three years, is already World War III, since North Korean soldiers are fighting against Ukraine alongside Russia.
“We can already call this a World War, because it has been officially confirmed that North Korean soldiers are fighting alongside the Russians, and, once again, Ukraine has found itself at the centre and is protecting Europe from a totalitarian regime, which, in our opinion, is no less guilty than Nazi Germany,” added Sadokha.
When asked about the appointment of the new Pope, announced today at the Vatican, and the importance of the Church in the conflict, Sadokha believed that the Pope is a world leader and that Europe is a largely Christian continent, so “the Pope’s opinion and the Pope’s actions are very important for all Christian countries.”
“We know that the new Pope Leo XIV has already spoken about peace, that he wants to establish peace, wants to create bridges between all the peoples of the world, and we hope that he will succeed in this sense and help us, Ukrainians, and all of Europe stop this terrible war,” he said.
The Chairman of the Association drew parallels with what is happening now in Ukraine and what happened during World War II, as negotiations with Putin resemble attempts by European countries to agree with Hitler.
“This policy led to the greatest disaster of the last century. It seems that world leaders have not studied history, and if all countries do not unite with Ukraine now, we may have an even worse disaster than in the last century,” he added.
During speeches delivered from a microphone and a small speaker, protesters chanted that “Hitler and Stalin are equal to Putin.”
One of the protesters, Ricardo Reus, a Portuguese man married to a Ukrainian woman, personally witnessed the Russian invasion of Donbas and Crimea and says he is participating in these protests “not by choice,” but “because it has to be.”
“I think it’s interesting that Russians don’t celebrate the same dates in World War II as the rest of the world, and they don’t believe the war started in 1939. Why?” the protester asked rhetorically, claiming that “Russians were on the side of the Germans and were also responsible for starting World War II.”
“But this is not the history they want to remember,” he concluded. Russia will mark the anniversary with a military parade on Red Square on Friday, and Moscow has already confirmed the presence of several world leaders, including Presidents Lula da Silva of Brazil, Xi Jinping of China, Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and Aleksandar Vucic of Serbia. Lula da Silva’s presence has also drawn criticism from the association’s chairman, who believes that the Brazilian head of state’s visit to Moscow “ demonstrates whose side he is on.”
Photo: Sofia Shovikova.
