CALLS have been made for the Russian flag to be taken down from Coventry City Council House in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
A request has been made by the Coventry branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (AUGB).
Coun Gary Ridley, who is among those backing the calls and highlighted the issue on social media, said: “We must stand shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian people – not the aggressor.”
Representatives from Coventry’s AUGB will be meeting with the city council leader and the Lord Mayor this afternoon about the request and will be speaking to Coun Ridley and his colleagues.
Roman Leshchsyhyn, secretary of AUGB Coventry, said: “Over the last few months we have had many expressions of support and sympathy from Coventry councillors from all parties and we are expecting a favourable response to our request.”
On Tuesday, Petro Rewko Fedir Kurlak, the chairman of the national AUGB wrote to Liz Truss, the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, thanking the Government for its support and ‘significant aid’.
He also called for the UK Government and its NATO partners to impose a number of sanctions on Russia, including that ‘the OSCE monitoring mission is returned to full strength to fully document continued acts of aggression by Russia are dispel fake news’.
The OSCE monitoring mission reported it had already witnessed hundreds of ceasefire violations and explosions in both the Donetsk and Luhansk regions at the start of the week.
The AUGB also wants sanctions on Russian banks and businesses operating in the UK to stop them from trading and supporting the Russian economy.
And it is calling for the assets of all Russian oligarchs in the UK to be frozen as well as other measures.
The Observer has contacted Coventry City Council and is awaiting a response.
