According to Poland's tvp.info website, many of the protesters were "blind followers of Putin."
They opposed what they called "racism against Russians," tvp.info said, citing Germany’s Bild newspaper.
Denial of war crimes
In the central city of Frankfurt am Main, demonstrators denied Russia’s culpability for war crimes in Ukraine, tvp.info reported, citing Bild.
They insisted that scenes of atrocities had been “stage-managed by Ukraine, which isn’t an independent country," tvp.info reported.
Protesters marched on foot as the city authorities refused to allow a pro-Russian motorcade, Bild reported, according to tvp.info.
The organisers said: “None of us supports violence and hatred. After what happened in Ukraine, many regard us as aggressors.”
They added: “We don’t want to be scared and ashamed of having Russian blood. Many Russians have fallen victim to discrimination, some have lost their jobs,” Bild reported, as quoted by tvp.info.
Night Wolves among protesters
According to Frankfurt police, the rally, which attracted “several hundred” participants, proceeded “peacefully,” without any forbidden slogans or symbols, Bild said, as quoted by tvp.info.
However, members of the Putin-friendly Night Wolves Motorcycle Club were spotted among the protesters, media outlets said, according to tvp.info.
Shouts of 'Donbas belongs to Russia'
Meanwhile in the northern city of Hanover, some 300 cars drove through the streets draped in Russian and German flags, Bild reported, as quoted by tvp.info.
Police officers rigorously checked the vehicles for illegal symbols (such as “Z”) and slogans, according to the German daily.
A spokesman for Hanover police said protesters had to take Russian flags off their bonnets before the rally was allowed to start, Bild said, as cited by tvp.info.
Police officers also admonished some of the demonstrators for shouting “Donbas belongs to Russia,” according to tvp.info.
Pro-Ukrainian protesters stop motorcade
The pro-Russian motorcade, which numbered some 600 people, was stopped by some 1,000 pro-Ukrainian protesters who chanted: “Putin is a murderer” and “Go away, we don’t want war,” tvp.info reported.
Before the rally in Hanover, Boris Pistorius, the interior minister for the German state of Lower Saxony, said: “We won’t allow Russia’s war against Ukraine to continue on our streets,” according to tvp.info.
Monday is day 47 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: tvp.info, bild.de