Ukraine supporters to march through Southampton in anniversary of war

The group will march from the Bargate through Above Bar Street at 6pm and form a circle where the words ‘731 days of the war’ will be lit up using candles.

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of the country on February 24 2022 saw Russian attacks on major cities like Kharkiv, Odesa and its capital Kyiv.

There will also be a minute's silence before some closing speeches are made.

More than 9,600 civilians have been killed as of September 2023, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and sparked a major humanitarian crisis as thousands of Ukrainians fled from the country.

Peace vigil for Ukraine in Southampton on February 24, 2023 (Image: Daily Echo)READ MORE: 'Russia must lose': Hundreds march through city to remember fallen souls of Ukraine

Event organiser Iryna Afonina said: “I will add that this rally needs each of us personally to feel once again a part of Ukraine.

“To feel that we are a big community, to feel our power and that we have to declare ourselves. It doesn't matter where Ukrainians live - in Ukraine or abroad, they are all united in the fight against the enemy.

“I believe there will be as many of us as possible.”

As well as the city march, many Ukrainians and supporters will be travelling to London for a rally and a vigil at Trafalgar Square.

Last year, city residents - many draped in the yellow and blue of the Ukrainian flag - marched to the Peace Fountain in East Park to lay floral tributes for the fallen souls killed since the war erupted and a prayer vigil was held at Above Bar Church in Southampton.

It comes as the UK announces more than 50 further sanctions against Russia.

The sanctions target individuals and businesses sustaining Russian President Vladimir Putin's war effort.

The Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said the UK would continue to back Ukraine ‘for as long as it takes’.