A RALLY calling for an end to the war in Ukraine took place in Southampton yesterday.
Campaigners from the 'Stop the War' coalition gathered by the Bargate between 12pm and 1pm to hold a peaceful demonstration.
The war in Ukraine has been raging since Russia invaded the country on February 24.
The conflict has forced around 5.3 million people to flee from their homes, according to the UN.
Helen Field, 68, said the rally was part of International Day of Action.
The Totton resident, who is also Chair of Unite Community of Southampton, said she doesn’t want to see the war escalate further and claims that the only way to achieve this is by calling for negotiations to take place.
She said: “What we’re doing is calling for peace in Ukraine, we don’t want to escalate this war, we want to see the war stopping and the only way to stop the war is through peace, not by building up troops and sending rockets and sending armaments into the country, so we want to de-escalate it and we want to see negotiations taking place.”
READ MORE: Crowd gathers in Southampton city centre to protest war in Ukraine
Abe Clariana-Piga, 72, who has lived in Southampton since 1977 but is originally from Chile, said: “Everyone around the world is being affected by this war.
“People in Ukraine are being affected, people in Russia - particularly young people - [who] are being sent there to kill and get killed, and, in our country, as we are sending millions of pounds worth of arms while there are so many people facing hunger, not being able to fill up their car or not being able to pay bills.”
Shirley Franklin, 72, from Brockenhurst, has been a member of 'Stop the War' since the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
She said: “I don’t agree with the invasion, I don’t agree with arming either.”
‘Stop the War’ is a British group established in September 2001 shortly after 9/11, to campaign against what it believes are unjust wars.
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