Ukrainians take protest to presidential palace (video)

Dozens of Ukrainian people living in Cyprus protested outside the presidential palace on Saturday to push for sanctions against Russia after its troops invaded home country on Thursday.

Holding Ukrainian flags, people of all ages gathered at noon to support EU sanctions against Russia, including the blocking of the country from the Swift global payments system.

Demonstrators also held signs reading ‘Stop Russia before it’s too late!’ and others suggesting a correlation between the war in Ukraine with the 1974 Turkish invasion of the island.

They addressed a letter to President Nicos Anastasiades, asking him to support sanctions against Russia. The letter was received by the director of the president’s press office Andreas Iosif.

“Ukraine has a long history dating back hundreds of years, but a relatively short history as an independent state, just like Cyprus.

“Both Ukraine and Cyprus are experiencing the negative consequences of having a more powerful and dominant neighbour on their borders,” the letter said.

Members of the Ukrainian community are calling, among other things, for pressure for a no-fly zone over Ukraine and support for EU sanctions on Russia, including the Swift cut-off, an embargo on the import of Russian oil and gas, the freezing of Russian state assets abroad and the closure of ports and airports to Russian ships and planes.

In the event description on social media, organisers, a group called Ukrainians in Cyprus, alleged the island, “along with Hungary, Italy and Germany, are blocking the adoption of hard EU sanctions against Russia, trying to make these sanctions as soft and toothless as possible.”

However, Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides had earlier said Cyprus did not oppose any EU sanctions against Russia.