The demonstration took place outside the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court as the trial opened under tight security. Protesters held signs declaring “Russia is a Terrorist” and challenged the decision to bring war crimes charges. One placard drew a distinction between damaging a gas pipeline and bombing buildings or killing civilians.
Ivan Kuritsyn, from Citizens’ Initiative Vilni De Ua, a non-profit organisation set up by Ukrainians displaced by the war, said the demonstrators had come to show their solidarity with Serhii Kuznietsov.
