"Russia is a terrorist state" - Lyon protests’ slogan

The protesters called attention to the atrocities committed by the Russian invaders, including the killing of Ukrainians in Izium and the terrorist attack against Ukrainian prisoners of war in Olenivka. 

People were seen holding photographs of Ukrainians who had been tortured in Izium, Olenivka, and other locations, as well as photographs of homes in Ukrainian cities that had been destroyed by Russian missiles.

The hand of the tortured Ukrainian soldier wearing a yellow-blue wristband, the Ukraine’s national hero Serhiy Sova, is one of the demonstration's most heartbreaking images, and it has gone viral around the world.

Foto: Mykola Cusin

The participants in the Lyon protest serve as a reminder to all French citizens and the French government what Russia is and the need to recall its war crimes through these images. It’s essential especially when pro-Kremlin politicians in France assert that Russia is not an enemy and that negotiations with it are needed. These images demonstrate the cost of discussions with Moscow.

On September 15, after the liberation of the town of Izyum in the Kharkiv region by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a large mass grave of Ukrainian soldiers and about 450 civilian graves under crosses with numbers were found in a forest plantation. These graves appeared during the occupation of Izyum by Russian invaders.

The exhumation in Izyum began on September 16. According to the first conclusions of law enforcement officers, most of the bodies have signs of violent death and torture.

The massacre in Izyum became the basis for statements by many Western leaders condemning the new war crime of the Russians.