With many Ukrainian and Portuguese flags and the motto "A United Europe from Kiev to Lisbon", about 30 Ukrainians participated today in the demonstration organized by the Association of Ukrainians in Portugal (ACP), whose leader Pavlo Sadokha expressed to Lusa the community's gratitude for the support of the majority of Portuguese political parties in relation to Ukraine and the condemnation of the Russian aggression, in February 2022.

"Today, we are here in this square to ask the Portuguese, who will soon vote for the deputies of the political parties that will represent Portugal in the European Union, to choose the parties that want peace in Europe, that want to help defend Europe against Russian aggression and that want to see Ukraine in the European Union", said Sadokha.

"Some parties, such as PS and PSD, want to help Ukraine and we are very grateful to these major political parties, which since the beginning of the large-scale invasion [by Russia] have always supported Ukraine and always supported receiving refugees from Ukraine", he added.

Ukrainian protester Lyudmyla Panasyuk told Lusa that most Portuguese "are good people, they support and understand that war is a very bad thing for society", but regretted that some are "collaborating with Russians and Russian embassies".

Lyudmyla recalled the effort of the Ukrainian soldiers, including her son, who is on the front lines.

"My son is in combat, on the front lines. They are exhausted and we are tired too. If we think about them, we have to find resources to continue fighting", she told Lusa.

Mykola Shymonyak, also a Ukrainian protester, stressed the importance of Ukraine's presence in the EU.

"We are here united, on Europe Day, to show that Europe is not just" the current member countries, and that Ukraine itself would very much like to be in the European Union", he told Lusa.

As a Portuguese citizen, Mykola will vote in the European elections, but if Ukraine joins the EU, he would vote "with pleasure" as a Ukrainian citizen.

The elections for the European Parliament will take place between 06 and 09 June, the last day being the one on which the Portuguese will go to the polls to choose their 21 representatives.

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, with the argument of protecting pro-Russian separatist minorities in the east and "denazifying" the neighbouring country, independent since 1991, after the breakup of the former Soviet Union, and which has been moving away from Moscow's sphere of influence and closer to Europe and the West.

The war in Ukraine has already caused tens of thousands of deaths on both sides, and the two belligerents remain unwavering in their territorial positions and without openness to negotiating concessions.

Recent months have been marked by large-scale Russian airstrikes against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, while Kiev forces have targeted targets in Russian territory near the border and in the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed in 2014.

Now in its third year of war, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been facing a shortage of soldiers, weapons and ammunition, despite repeated promises of aid from Western allies.

Read Also: Protest by Ukrainians in Lisbon to call for a united Europe against Russia (Portuguese version)