Dresden (dpa/sn) - SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert called for solidarity with the Eastern European country on the anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine. "It means a year of suffering, persecution, rape and escape," said Kühnert on Friday afternoon in Dresden. In the Saxon state capital, he wanted to take part in the central rally on the Neumarkt in front of the Frauenkirche, to which various initiatives called "Solidarity with Ukraine". The organizers expect around 1,500 people on the Neumarkt alone.
Dresden is one of hundreds of places where civil society comes together on this day to commemorate the victims of the war. "But I'm also here to object. To object to the repeated attempts by the far right to misuse the city of Dresden as a backdrop for their right-wing extremist activities," said Kühnert. Civil society is therefore also standing up against the right on the anniversary of the war.
Parallel to the rally on the Neumarkt, there is to be a counter-rally in Dresden - including by the AfD, the far-right splinter party Freie Sachsen and Pegida. Among others, the Thuringian AfD boss Björn Höcke is expected on the Theaterplatz.
