No to NATO demo in London on Ukraine anniversary
Thousands of kilometers away from the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war, an appeal for peace comes from central London.
Saturday’s protest means that while there may be a consensus in at the official political level here in Britain and some other countries on the need to escalate in Ukraine, anti-war sentiment among ordinary people is on the rise.
Years before the conflict began, anti-war campaigners had warned of the consequences of a NATO expansion toward countries that share borders with Russia; their warnings were ignored.
That threat became more real last week after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his country was halting its participation in a nuclear arms reduction treaty with the US in response to US-led NATO sending tanks and other armaments to Ukraine.
Wars come at a cost and its not just the Ukrainians and the Russians impacted by this one. The ripple effects of what’s happening on the battlefield have already washed up on European shores.
After a year of war that’s seen tens of thousands killed, tens of millions displaced, and entire cities destroyed, will this renewed call for peace make a difference?
