People march during "Freedom Parade" on Ukraine's Independence Day, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Berlin, Germany, August 24, 2022. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Six months after Russian troops invaded Ukraine, around 3,500 people protested against the war in Berlin on Wednesday, according to the police. A police spokesman said the demonstration was peaceful.

After prayers in the Memorial Church on Breitscheidplatz, people moved to Wittenbergplatz and Nollendorfplatz in the direction of Potsdamer Strasse on Wednesday.

Several of them waved Ukrainian flags, wore them over their shoulders or wore blue and yellow clothing. Ukraine also celebrated the 31st anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union on Wednesday.

The association Vitsche called for the event. Its board member Vlada Vorobiova said before the protest: “Today is a day of great horror – it’s been six months since Russia attacked all of Ukraine – but at the same time it’s also a day of great freedom, of independence, for which Ukraine stand and fight.”

The organizers had originally expected up to 10,000 demonstrators. In the first weeks after the beginning of the war there were several large protest marches in Berlin.

On August 24, 1991, the then Soviet Republic of Ukraine declared its independence after the failed coup by conservative forces against Secretary General Mikhail Gorbachev.