Russian youth movements decry NATO ‘summit of death’
Russian youth activists staged a series of protests outside Western diplomatic missions in Moscow and St. Petersburg, in the wake of the latest NATO summit in Vilnius on Tuesday. The protesters condemned continued Western arms shipments to Kiev, adding that the weapons supplied by the US and its allies are being used to “kill elderly people and children” in Ukraine.
More than 2,500 young people took part in the protests, the ‘Young Guard of United Russia’ – the youth wing of Russia's largest parliamentary party – claimed in a statement. The Young Guard organized the rallies together with the ‘Volunteer Company’ – a patriotic youth organization seeking to preserve Russia’s “historical memory.”
The demonstrators held placards with slogans such as: “NATO summit is a summit of death” and “NATO weapons are in the hands of terrorists.” Some of the banners also featured photos of civilians killed in Ukrainian strikes.
Head of the ‘Young Guard’ group, Anton Demidov, claimed in a statement that activists had protested outside the diplomatic missions of 11 nations, including Lithuania, which hosted the latest NATO summit. His movement was protesting the deliveries of “lethal arms” to Ukraine because “civilians are getting hit,” Demidov said. “These weapons are injuring and maiming elderly people and children,” he added.
The ‘Young Guard’ leader specifically condemned Washington’s decision to hand over cluster bombs to Ukraine. Such weapons are banned all over the world, Demidov said, adding that some of the bomblets scattered by cluster bombs do not explode and are later found by children. “Children are getting blown up and injured by these munitions,” he said.
Moscow has consistently warned that Western arms supplies to Kiev serve only to extend the ongoing conflict and to prolong human suffering, and that continued arms deliveries on the part of the US and its allies also only increase the risk of a major conflict between Russia and NATO.
The protests took place in the wake of a summit that saw Kiev’s Western backers pledging further arms supplies to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. President Vladimir Zelensky said that Kiev has reached “major agreements” with Western nations regarding new military aid packages.
The military bloc also adopted a new defense plan that largely focused on countering a potential Russian attack on NATO territory. Member-states agreed to drastically increase the alliance's rapid reaction force and to send additional troops to the Baltic States and Poland.
Russia has repeatedly stated that it considers the bloc’s eastward expansion as a threat to its national security. It has also cited Kiev’s aspirations to join NATO as among the major reasons for launching its military operation against Ukraine in February 2022.
