Protests broke out across Europe and further afield today as the global outcry against Russian president Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine grew louder amid the unfolding deadly crisis.
Anti-war activists took to the streets and gathered outside Russian embassies including those in London, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm, Oslo, Riga, as well as further afield in Tokyo, making their voices heard. Sydney also saw furious protesters calling for an end to the conflict.Demonstrations were held overnight before war was declared by Russia, and continued into Thursday as Russian tanks rolled towards Kiev. There have been reports of intense fighting and casualties on both sides.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday also called on Ukrainian to 'go out' and 'protest against this war', after urging Russians to do the same earlier this week in a bid to prevent the invasion.
'We have severed diplomatic relations with Russia. For all those who have not yet lost their conscience in Russia, it is time to go out and protest against the war with Ukraine,' he said today.
Meanwhile, a Russian opposition activist who called for anti-war protests told Reuters that she had been detained by police on Thursday.
'I was detained on my way out of the house,' Marina Litvinovich, the Moscow-based activist, wrote on Telegram. She confirmed her detention separately in a message to Reuters.
Litvinovich called on Russians earlier to gather in protest in various Russian cities on Thursday evening.Across Europe, people were pictures with placards and megaphones outside Russian embassies, calling for Putin to pull back from Ukraine and stop the war.
A growing group of Ukrainians and Russians united outside of the Russian embassy in Kensington, London, also waving the Ukrainian flag. Last night, a large group gathered there ahead of the invasion.
Another photo taken outside Russia's diplomatic HQ in Britain showed demonstrators with placards that took aim aim at Putin, including one which depicted him with a Hitler-like moustache.
In Berlin, demonstrators waved Ukrainian flags in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Thursday. Last night, the iconic arch was lit up in Ukraine's colours.
In Paris, authorities lit City Hall in the same colours to also show their support.
In Stockholm, Sweden, a large group of people were seen in the snow waving the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine while shouting at Russia's embassy. Their placards called for the end of the war, with one man holding a sign that read 'hands of Ukraine.' Another said: 'Ukraine is forever.' Berlin, which represented the front line during the Cold War until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, was sending a clear signal for a free and sovereign Ukraine, said its government.
'We are showing our solidarity with the people of Ukraine, the many Berliners with Ukrainian roots but also with the many Russians who want peace in Russia and Ukraine,' Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey said in a statement.
'They all want nothing more than an end to the escalation and a peaceful settlement to this threatening conflict,' she added.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, also a candidate in France's upcoming presidential election, said earlier on Wednesday 'once again, the spectre of war looms on Europe's doorstep.' Ukrainian national Ela Czuruk fought back tears as she told of her fears for family back home during a protest outside the Russian Embassy in London on Thursday.
Ela called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt the invasion immediately and stop any further bloodshed.
She said: 'We are deeply concerned because our families are back there, so we came to the Russian embassy to express our concern, to show our support to Ukrainians who are back home.
'We don't want anyone to die. We don't want anymore casualties. We don't want any more deaths.'
Russian national Anna, who also attended the protest, said: 'As a Russia citizen, I am here to protest against these actions. This morning I woke up with tears in my eyes. I don't know what to do, but I really want to do something.'
Across the border in Scotland, Ukrainian people and their supporters protested outside the Russian embassy in Edinburgh, also waving the blue and yellow for Ukraine.