PRAGUE (AP) 鈥� Ukrainians rallied Tuesday in the Czech capital of Prague for the second straight evening to condemn against cities across Ukraine and to demand more weapons from the West to protect their nation.
The protesters held blue-and-yellow crosses with the names of the cities hit by the Russian missiles.
鈥淯kraine needs air defenses to be able to prevent the massacres of the civilian population and destruction of our cities,鈥� Anastasiia Sihnaievska told the crowd.
鈥淲e are protecting our right to live,鈥� said Sihnaievska, who fled her town of Zhytomyr because of the Russian invasion.
People chanted 鈥淩ussia鈥檚 terrorist!鈥� and 鈥淢ore weapons for Ukraine!鈥�
They unveiled a giant Ukrainian flag and displayed banners that read 鈥淎ir defense systems for Ukraine,鈥� 鈥淲e will not forget, We will not forgive,鈥� or 鈥淪top bombing Ukraine.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 great that Europe supports us but we need more help,鈥� said the 21-year-old Ivanna Mykuliak. A student of physics in Odesa, she came to the Czech Republic to work to help support her family in Ukraine.
Protesters who were not Ukrainian also joined the rally.
鈥淯kraine is fighting for us,鈥� said Julie Levkova, a Czech who helped organize the protest. 鈥淚 want to use all possibilities I have here and all my energy to fight for Ukraine in the Czech Republic.鈥�
A similar rally took place in Romania鈥檚 capital of Bucharest on Monday.
On Tuesday, the presidents of 10 European nations 鈥� Czechia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Montenegro 鈥� said the deadly Russian missile strikes this week against civilians in Ukraine 鈥渃onstitute war crimes under international law.鈥�
鈥淥n behalf of our states, we demand that Russia immediately stop attacking civilian targets,鈥� they said in a statement. 鈥淲e will not cease our efforts to bring to court people responsible of yesterday鈥檚 crimes.鈥�
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