As hundreds of thousands of people across the country marked Ukraine’s Defenders Day holiday, dozens of protesters assembled at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, calling on the country’s diplomatic corps to take measures for the release of a former National Guardsman who has been convicted in Italy for his role in the deaths of an Italian photojournalist and his Russian interpreter.
Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov, a former political prisoner who was released from Russian captivity last month, joined the rally to call for Vitaliy Markiv’s freedom. After leaving an appeal at the ministry, the group of demonstrators marched to the Italian Embassy and deposited a similar note.