"We demand demobilisation deadlines": around 100 people protest at Kyiv's central square

Over a hundred people gathered at Kyiv’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) on 12 November to demand that the government set deadlines for the demobilisation of frontline soldiers.

Source: hromadske media outlet

У Києві вимагають запровадити можливість демобілізації тим солдатам, які на фронті понад 18 місяців.

«Ми просимо замінити тих, хто від початку не ховався і безперервно виконує бойові завдання», кажуть рідні військовихhttps://t.co/N2kFJIhZqn pic.twitter.com/B9FEypWuh0 — hromadske (@HromadskeUA) November 12, 2023

Details: The protesters chanted: "The weight of the war shouldn’t be on the same shoulders", "We demand demobilisation deadlines", and "It’s time for others to step up".

Most of the protesters were wives and mothers of soldiers who have been on the front lines since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The soldiers’ families were collecting signatures for a petition asking the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief to make demobilisation possible for soldiers who have been fighting on the front line for more than 18 months.

"My eight-year-old daughter asks me: ‘Mummy, why has my daddy been at the front for 20 months while my friends’ dads are at home? When will Daddy be able to come back?’ What should I say to her?" said Inna, a Kyiv resident.

Her daughter is holding a placard that says "It's my turn to hug my daddy".

A soldier with the nom de guerre Grizzly, who lost both his legs when he was seriously injured in June of this year, was also at the protest.

"My position is that the guys [soldiers – ed.] need to rest. We have given more than enough time for others to be trained. The guys can’t work [effectively] anymore, there are brigades that don’t get a rotation, and there are brigades that aren’t given leave. My brother is on the front line too. There need to be deadlines so that the guys understand that they have to do everything they can during this time," he explained.

Similar protests were also held in Dnipro, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, Lviv, Chernivtsi and other cities.

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