On Saturday, February 18, several thousand protesters gathered in the capital of Bavaria for a rally against the Munich Security Conference taking place in the city these days.

According to preliminary police data, about 10,000 people took to the streets.

The demonstrators gathered in the city center, from where they moved to the square in front of the Munich Glyptothek (a museum of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture).

The protesters carried banners and posters calling for a halt in the supply of weapons to Ukraine and condemning militarism.

“The main goal (Munich. -

RT

) of the security conference is to agree on a common strategy for NATO states against their rivals - Russia and the People's Republic of China.

However, first of all, to promote and justify NATO's armament policy, ”the organizers of the demonstration believe, quoted by RIA Novosti.

The protesters also called for peace talks to resolve the situation in Ukraine.

The coordinators of the rally recalled the background of the conflict, the desire of Donbass for independence after the 2014 coup d'etat, as well as the advance of NATO to the east, which Moscow perceives as a threat.

Saturday's rally quickly escalated into clashes with the police.

Recall that the Munich conference for the second year in a row is held without the participation of representatives of Russia.

This causes concern among some politicians and experts - they believe that the pursuit of peace without dialogue with Moscow is impossible and that cooperation should be based on mutual trust.

The crisis in Ukraine has become the central theme of this conference.

Earlier in Munich, there were already protests against the supply of weapons to the Kyiv regime.

On the night of January 26, several hundred people took to the streets, demonstrating their opposition to the export of tanks and other weapons to Ukraine, as well as speaking in support of a diplomatic settlement.

A similar action was held in the capital of Bavaria in early February.

Against supplies

Judging by public opinion polls, the majority of Germans oppose the supply of weapons to Kyiv.

Recently, the ARD TV channel published the results of the Infratest dimap study, according to which 64% of German residents object to the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine.

Only 23% of respondents supported this initiative, while 13% refrained from answering.

Among politicians, members of the right-wing Alternative for Germany party (86%) and left-wing factions (81%) consider unacceptable the supply of combat aircraft to Ukraine.

Support for the export of fighter aircraft in the Green Party was 38%, in the Free Democratic Party - 34%, in the CDU / CSU bloc - 27%, and in the Social Democratic Party - 26%.

  • Demonstrations in Munich.

    Protesters call for the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Germany

  • globallookpress.com

  • © Felix Hörhager/dpa

The supply of combat aircraft to Kyiv began to be discussed almost immediately after the United States and Berlin approved the supply of main battle tanks of American and German production to Ukraine.

Earlier, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the need to supply the Ukrainian side with weapons, including fighter jets.

According to the Financial Times newspaper, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed dissatisfaction with the position of his allies regarding the supply of tanks to Ukraine - especially those countries that had previously insisted on sending equipment as soon as possible.

Previously, Scholz himself opposed sending tanks to Kyiv, but eventually changed his position.

This happened after US President Joe Biden announced his intention to transfer American Abrams tanks to the Kyiv regime.

At the Munich Conference, the German chancellor was asked if he had to convince other countries to supply armored vehicles to Ukraine.

Scholz forwarded this question to other states that previously lobbied for the transfer of equipment to Ukraine, but are now in no hurry to do so.

In addition, on February 15, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that the alliance of countries supplying tanks to Ukraine would be able to send only half of the Leopard 2A6 battalion and the Leopard 2A4 battalion.

Russia has repeatedly noted that the supply of new weapons to Kyiv will not change the intentions and goals of the special operation in Ukraine, and imported military equipment on Ukrainian territory will become a legitimate target for the RF Armed Forces.