War in Ukraine: Leeds city centre protest calls for end to conflict - live updates

Two hours after they first gathered on Briggate, those who marched through Leeds city centre in protest at the war in Ukraine are now beginning to disperse.

Leeds is not the only place to have seen protests today, with hundreds also gathered in central London to protest his invasion of Ukraine.

Some members of the crowd, including expats from Russia, Poland and Lithuania, wept as they voiced support for people affected by the war.

Campaigners gathered outside the BBC's Broadcasting House to wave signs saying "Russian troops out" and "No Nato Expansion".

The march was held by the Stop the War Coalition, as well as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), the No to Nato network, and CODEPINK.

Protesters chanted "Stop the war" and "Russian troops out now" as they began their march through the centre of the capital.

Speakers were due to address the crowd at Trafalgar Square this afternoon.

A member of the Extinction Rebellion group is now at the mic, leading those left outside the town hall in a song: “Sing it loud and sing it clear. Refugees are welcome here.”

Steve Johnson, of Unite Community, is now speaking. He says: “We stand shoulder to shoulder to the brave protestors in Russia.”

Russian authorities are continuing to block independent news outlets and arrest protesters there in an effort to tighten control over what information its domestic audience sees about the invasion of Ukraine.

Despite the efforts to tightly control the narrative, Russians all across the country have spoken out against the war.

Tens of thousands have signed open letters and online petitions demanding to stop it, and street protests in dozens of Russian cities have been happening almost daily since the attack began on February 24 - always followed by mass detentions.

On Sunday, protests spanned from Siberia to St Petersburg, with dozens of Russians taking to the streets in different cities.

According to OVD-Info, a rights group that tracks political arrests, a total of 1,558 people were detained in 43 Russian cities on Sunday, part of nearly 10,000 people detained since February 24.

A message has been read out on behalf of Labour MP Richard Burgon, who represents Leeds East.

In the statement, he said: “We need to raise our voices to demand global action and demand a world free of war.”

Addressing the crowd now is Polina Merkulova, of Feminist Anti-War Resistance.

She says: “The support in Leeds has been amazing as can be seen from the turnout today.”

Here’s a reminder of some of the ways that people in the city have shown their support:

Next to speak at the anti-war protest is Richard Wilson, of Leeds for Europe.

He tells the crowd gathered: “We need to be going harder with the sanctions to end this peacefully. Our government needs to do more.

“We all need to be united to defeat this evil.”

Colin Archer, of Leeds CND, is the first to address the crowd now gathered outside Leeds Town Hall.

He says: “Peace to the heroic people of Ukraine. Putin, withdraw your troops now.”

While the protest is taking place here in Leeds, Ukrainian authorities are making a second attempt to evacuate civilians from a southern city pounded by a week-long Russian attack.

Evacuations from the port city of Mariupol were scheduled to take place during a 10am to 9pm local ceasefire on Sunday, Ukrainian military authorities said.

But a similar ceasefire planned in the city and in Volnovakha nearby collapsed within hours on Saturday, trapping women, children and older men under more shelling and aerial bombardment by Russian forces.

The revived ceasefire announcement came after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and a Russian-speaking member of his Cabinet travelled to Moscow and spoke with Ukraine's president in hopes of brokering a broader deal to stop the fighting, now in its 11th day.

Here’s some of the protestors telling us why they have chosen to take part today:

Our reporter Tony Gardner is in the city centre where the march has now reached the town hall. He estimates that there are now around 500 gathered there.

Richard Wood and partner Danielle-Barker Wood have joined the protest along with their children Erica, Meredith and Gabrielle.

Richard said: “We’ve just come here today because obviously we think that we need to raise awareness of what’s going on.

“It’s obviously very horrible, there’s not much we can do outside of what the Government’s doing but I think we’re just showing a sense of solidarity really with what’s going on there.”

Sat on her dad’s shoulders, daughter Meredith said she was there to protest about the war in Ukraine and it was “not nice to have wars”.

The crowds have now set off from Briggate and are marching along The Headrow towards Leeds Town Hall.

France has today urged Britain to do more to help Ukrainian refugees trying to come to the UK from Calais, as Justice Secretary Dominic Raab defended the visa rules for those fleeing the conflict.

French interior minister Gerald Darmanin on Sunday said it was "inhumane" of the UK to turn away refugees arriving at the French port city if they did not have a valid visa.

Hundreds of Ukrainian refugees in Calais have been told by British authorities to obtain a visa at UK consulates in Paris or Brussels, he said.

Asked about reports that 150 Ukrainian refugees had been turned away at Calais, Mr Raab suggested support would be undermined for Ukraine if the UK lets refugees in without visas.

The Justice Secretary told the BBC's Sunday Morning programme: "If we just open the door, not only will we not benefit the people that we need to, the genuine refugees, but I think we undermine the popular support for this very thing, so I don't think that's the right thing to do.

“We need to make sure that we're acting for those that need our support."

Mr Raab said he expects up to 200,000 Ukrainians could come to the UK through the family dependents route, while the “route for Ukrainians fleeing persecution is uncapped”.

He added that the UK had also given £220m of humanitarian support, which is directly for the Ukrainian people but also for those countries taking refugees.

Polina Merkulova, of Feminist Anti-War Resistance, is among those taking part in today’s protest.

She said: “First of all, we want to show solidarity with all the people in Ukraine who are suffering from this horrific war.

“We’re also showing solidarity towards the Russian people who are protesting now and being arrested as we speak. There are thousands of arrests up to date so there will be more.

“We also want the UK government to start taking more action to stop this war and welcome refugees into the UK.”

Around 100 people have arrived in Briggate so far to join the protest against the war in Ukraine.

Our reporter Tony Gardner is on Briggate where members of Yorkshire and Leeds CND have started to gather ahead of the protest.

The organisation’s Jonas Marvin said: “The first and foremost reason why we’re here is to express solidarity with the Ukrainian people who are witnessing and experiencing horrible conditions due to the Russian war and imperial aggression that’s happened over the last couple of weeks.

“Why we’re here is that we want a negotiated settlement and we want a Russian withdrawal. We want the conflict to de-escalate, we want this Government to accept the Ukrainian refugees into this country and we want peace.”

He says the protestors plan to gather in Briggate over the next 40 minutes or so before heading to Leeds Town Hall at around 1.35pm.

Hundreds of people are set to march through Leeds this lunchtime for a ‘Stop the War in Ukraine’ protest.

The protest - organised by Leeds CND and the Feminist Antiwar Resisters - is set to see people assemble on Briggate at 1pm before marching to Leeds Town Hall for "peace, de-escalation and Russian withdrawal".

It is also supported by Stand Up To Racism, Unite Community and Leeds For Europe.

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