Leeds shows solidarity with Ukraine in rally to mark 150 days since the war began

Members of the Leeds community gathered at City Square today to mark 150 days since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
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Attendees paid tribute to those killed in the conflict over the last five months, laying sunflowers in front of the Black Prince statue and reading out the names of the villages, towns and cities affected by the war.

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Ewhen Chymera, organiser of the event, said: “I’m a third generation Ukrainian living here in the UK and when you see what’s going on in Ukraine and the suffering people are going through, you realise how lucky you are.

Attendees paid tribute to those killed in the conflict over the last five months, laying sunflowers in front of the Black Prince statue and reading out the names of the villages, towns and cities affected by the war.Attendees paid tribute to those killed in the conflict over the last five months, laying sunflowers in front of the Black Prince statue and reading out the names of the villages, towns and cities affected by the war.
Attendees paid tribute to those killed in the conflict over the last five months, laying sunflowers in front of the Black Prince statue and reading out the names of the villages, towns and cities affected by the war.
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"[This event] is to support them. They’ve gone through so much and lost so much and they’re coming here to the UK with nothing. Today’s about reminding people that the war is still going on, people are losing their lives everyday, and there are people here that need support.”

Opening with the Ukrainian national anthem, Ewhen led the crowd in showing their support and solidarity through a series of speeches and songs.

Posters, signs and plaques were held up by attendees throughout the event, displaying the names of those killed and the places destroyed by the war.

So far the conflict has seen millions of people forced to flee their homes, while the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project has reported that more than 10,000 people have been killed.

Attendees paid tribute to those killed in the conflict over the last five months.Attendees paid tribute to those killed in the conflict over the last five months.
Attendees paid tribute to those killed in the conflict over the last five months.
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Fighting continues in Ukraine and shows little sign of a ceasefire, with Russia bombing Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa just hours after Russia signed deals to allow grain exports to resume.

Olya Callaghan, chairwoman of the Leeds branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, said: “People want to come and remember that the war is still going on. A lot of people here have lost loved ones in Ukraine and the reason they are here is because they’ve been driven out of their homes unwillingly.

“The worst thing would be if people forgot and became ‘war tired’ – that it is just another war that is going on. But it’s in Europe and these people are dying and we really cannot forget that.”

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