Pro-Moscow supporters took to the streets in several German cities on April 10 to protest what they call discrimination against Russians.
They faced off against demonstrators protesting against Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
German police had to separate the two groups at times to prevent violence. At least two people were arrested amid skirmishes.
In Hanover, in northern Germany, about 650 pro-Russia demonstrators took part in a motorcade rally, according to German newspaper Bild.
Meanwhile in Frankfurt, the nation’s financial capital, several hundred people participated in a pro-Russia rally, local police said.
Frankfurt rejected their request for a motorcade rally.
The protesters called for an end to what they called “hate speech” and “discrimination” against Russian-speaking citizens.
Police have recorded 383 anti-Russian offenses and 181 anti-Ukrainian offenses since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
Germany is home to 1.2 million people of Russian origin and 325,000 from Ukraine.
The protesters in Hanover adorned their cars with Russian and German flags. The start of the rally was delayed by counterprotesters, Bild reported.
The pro-Russia demonstrators were banned from carrying or wearing the symbols V or Z, which Germany says represents aggression and the invasion of Ukraine.
They were also forbidden to endorse Russia’s invasion through words or pictures or from carrying flags representing the self-declared governments of Kremlin-backed separatists in Ukraine.
