Protests were held in different Polish cities on Monday evening in support of Ukraine after Moscow opened fire on and seized three Ukrainian navy ships near Russian-annexed Crimea over the weekend.
Carrying anti-Putin banners and wrapped in the Ukrainian flag, protesters in Warsaw demonstrated in front of the Russian embassy while other groups in Gdańsk, Kraków and Łódz gathered with banners expressing solidarity with Ukraine.
"We know tragic it is to be attacked by a neighbor, we know how tragic martial law is and we want to tell our Ukrainian friends that we stand together with them," said a protester in Łódz.
The crisis erupted when border patrol boats belonging to Russia's FSB security service seized two small Ukrainian armored artillery vessels and a tug boat after opening fire on them and wounding three sailors on Sunday.
The Ukrainian vessels had been trying to enter the Sea of Azov from the Black Sea via the narrow Kerch Strait that separates Crimea from the Russian mainland.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 International, Reuters