HANOVER / FRANKFURT, April 10 (Reuters) – Pro-Russians staged demonstrations Sunday in the German cities of Frankfurt and Hanover, where they were much more numerous than supporters of Ukraine, local police said.
About 600 pro-Russian protesters in a motorcade of 400 cars under Russian flags marched through Hanover in northern Germany, while about 3,500 supporters of Ukraine gathered in the city center, police said.
Fences were erected to separate pro-Russian protesters from the rival demonstration, they said, adding that the atmosphere was heated at times, but both protests were generally peaceful.
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About 235,000 Russian citizens live in Germany, according to government statistics from the end of 2020. About 135,000 Ukrainians lived in Germany before the Russian invasion, according to statistics, but another 300,000 arrived after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February.
In Frankfurt, some 800 pro-Russian protesters marched through the city center after local authorities refused to allow a motorcade, some chanting “Russia” and holding a banner reading “Truth and Diversity Instead of Propaganda.”
About 2,500 pro-Ukrainian protesters gathered at two other locations in Frankfurt, holding Stop War banners and holding Ukrainian flags painted on their faces.
Ahead of Sunday’s rallies, authorities said protesters had the right to assemble, but Russian military propaganda or approval of Russian aggression would not be tolerated, local media reported.
The police rebuked some protesters in Frankfurt that they chanted Donbas belongs to Russia, referring to the eastern part of Ukraine, which borders Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent troops to Ukraine for what he calls a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “denationalize” Ukraine. Ukraine and the West say Putin has started an unprovoked aggressive war.
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Reports by Fabian Beamer and Erol Dogrudogan in Hanover, Kai Pfaffenbach, Andreas Burger and Frank Simon in Frankfurt, Victoria Waldersee in Berlin. Edited by Jane Merriman and Barbara Lewis
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