The motorcade, which bears Russian and some German flags, protests the discrimination in Germany against the Russians after the invasion of Ukraine. The police said fences had been placed to divide the philemis demonstrators from the antisense and added that the demonstrations were peaceful so far. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register About 235,000 Russians live in Germany, according to government statistics by the end of 2020. About 135,000 Ukrainians lived in Germany before the Russian invasion, according to statistics, but about 300,000 have arrived since the invasion. In Frankfurt, pro-Russian protesters gathered for a march in the city center after local authorities refused to allow a motorcade, local media reported. Protesters gathered in two other locations in Frankfurt, with “Stop War” banners and Ukrainian flags painted on their faces. The police in Frankfurt said it was too early to give estimates for numbers in both demonstrations. Local authorities expected about 2,000 people on the pro-Russian march. Authorities opposed the protest with all available police forces, special services and the army. “ “We will not allow the exercise of our fundamental right to assemble and to protest Russian war propaganda in the German streets,” Lower Saxony Interior Minister Boris Pistorius told local media on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent troops to Ukraine on a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “demilitarize” Ukraine. Ukraine and the West say Putin has launched an unprovoked offensive war. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reports by Fabian Bimmer and Erol Dogrudogan in Hanover, Kai Pfaffenbach, Andreas Burger and Frank Simon in Frankfurt, Victoria Waldersee in Berlin. Edited by: Jane Merriman Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
