Ukrainians living in Lebanon hold flags and signs as they mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine at Martyrs' Square in downtown Beirut, Lebanon Feb. 24, 2023. (Credit: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)
BEIRUT — Members of the Ukrainian community in Lebanon held a demonstration on Friday in downtown Beirut to mark one year since the Russian invasion of their home country.
A video posted on the local Ukrainian community's Facebook page showed several dozen people gathered at Martyrs' Square holding a giant Ukrainian flag, which they waved to the rhythm of patriotic songs.
Some of the demonstrators also held signs displaying their support for the Ukrainian army. Other banners read "No to terrorism" and "Stop the war."
Ukrainian citizens residing in Lebanon have demonstrated several times in 2022 to protest against the war in their country, including in front of the Russian embassy in Beirut.
Since Russian forces invaded Ukraine last year, the latter has shown fierce military resistance and, aided by the West, inflicted unexpected setbacks on Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Russian troops entered Ukraine in the early hours of Feb. 24, 2022, launching the largest conflict in Europe since World War II. A year later, Ukrainian cities have been reduced to rubble, part of the country is under Russian occupation and both sides have killed or wounded more than 150,000 people each, according to Western estimates.
However, the Ukrainian army forced the Kremlin to give up on Kyiv in the spring, then in the summer and fall pushed Russian forces into the northeast and south. Since then, the front has largely stabilized, but both sides are preparing new offensives.
In addition to the Crimea region annexed in 2014, Russia now claims as its own four other regions of eastern and southern Ukraine.
In Lebanon, the Russian invasion has meant stalled shipments of Ukrainian grain.