Ukrainians protest against Lula during his visit to Portugal for his comments on the war

Waving flags and holding photographs depicting the atrocities of the conflict, Ukrainians rallied outside the Brazilian embassy in Lisbon on Friday to protest recent statements about the war in Ukraine by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Lula, who arrived in Portugal on Friday for a five-day official visit, has angered many in the West for suggesting that both Ukraine and Russia are to blame for the conflict that began when Moscow invaded his neighbor in February 2022.

Last weekend he said that the United States and European allies they should stop supplying weapons to Ukrainestating that they were prolonging the war.

In recent days, the Brazilian leader has softened his rhetoric, condemning Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, while has again requested mediation to end the war, a peace initiative that the Ukrainian government has criticized for treating “the victim and the aggressor” in the same way.

Disgust over support for Russia

Ukrainian refugee Yana Kolomiiets, who has been in Portugal for four months, participated in the protest in Lisbon and said she felt “terrible” when she heard Lula’s comments.

“I’ve been very upset because I don’t know how the president of Brazil can support Putin… this murderer,” the 27-year-old said.

Two Brazilian officials told Reuters on Thursday that Lula – willing to protect Brazil’s neutrality – was expected to avoid criticizing the West’s role in the Ukraine war during his visit to Portugal. On Saturday he will meet with the Portuguese president and prime minister.

Outside the embassy, ​​protesters carried banners reading “Russia is a terrorist state” and “stop killing our children.”

“In Ukraine people die every day and we need international support,” said the president of the Ukrainian Association of Portugal, Pavlo Sadokha, describing it as “strange” that a “president (…) who has fought for democracy all his life was now on the side of totalitarianism”.

On Tuesday, Ukraine invited Lula to visit the country, one day after he meet in Brasilia with the Russian Foreign Minister.

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