1 of 3 Russians, Ukrainians and descendants of both nationalities at a ceremony in front of the Consulate General of Russia, in SP — Photo: Hermínio Bernardo/TV Globo Russians, Ukrainians and descendants of both nationalities at a ceremony in front of the Consulate General of Russia, in SP — Photo: Hermínio Bernardo/TV Globo
A group of Russians, Ukrainians and descendants of both nationalities held an act in front of the Russian Consulate General in São Paulo’s South Zone this Friday (24th), the day Putin’s troops invaded Ukraine.
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About 35 people held placards rejecting the war, supporting the Ukrainian people and targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin. A boom box played the sounds of bombs, gunfire and sirens.
Around 11:00 a.m., the protesters left the front of the consulate and headed to the Sé Cathedral in the center of the city, where a mass for peace in Ukraine was being held.
2 of 3 Russians, Ukrainians and descendants of both nationalities at a ceremony in front of the General Consulate of Russia, in SP — Photo: Hermínio Bernardo/TV Globo Russians, Ukrainians and descendants of both nationalities at a ceremony in front of the General Consulate of Russia, in SP — Photo: Hermínio Bernardo/TV Globo
Ukrainian Myroslava Moroz, who first moved to Brazil in 2010, said she was mentally preparing for a long war. She reported that her mother fled Ukraine right at the start of the invasion and spent six months on Brazilian soil, but then returned to the capital, Kiev.
Myroslava’s father runs a wheat business and spent much of the conflict feeding Ukrainian soldiers and refugees. According to the girl, her father’s health deteriorated during this period due to the constant state of alarm with the noise of sirens and bombs. He has been in Brazil since December but wants to return to Ukraine in March. “His whole life is there,” said the daughter.
“That’s my home. In the beginning I was very afraid of losing my homeland, my place of birth, my background, my family. I was very afraid for relatives, for children,” said Myroslava, who has nieces at school. “The school had to move the classroom underground, so for the children who are going through the war, it’s very tragic.”
3 of 3 Russians, Ukrainians and descendants of both nationalities at a ceremony in front of the General Consulate of Russia, in SP — Photo: Hermínio Bernardo/TV Globo Russians, Ukrainians and descendants of both nationalities at a ceremony in front of the General Consulate of Russia, in SP — Photo: Hermínio Bernardo/TV Globo
Russian Evgeni Oslavski left his country after the third day of invasion of Ukrainian territory. He and his wife said they had been opponents of Putin’s rule for almost two decades and felt unsafe about staying in their own country. “There are examples of people who went to jail just for saying the word ‘war,'” the boy said.
“I can say with certainty that war is not popular in Russia, either with people who love Putin or with those who are recognized as imperialists, each for their own reasons. I don’t want a war because it’s bloody and it’s about a man. Only one man on this planet needs this war, people are dying in vain,” said the Russian, referring to Putin.