How civilians and companies pushed back, 24 March 2022
A look at the forms of public resistance and economic pressure reported in the days before 24 March 2022, from occupied Kherson to European capitals.
What did public opposition to the invasion look like by 24 March 2022? The reports from the preceding days show pressure applied at several levels at once: residents in occupied towns, demonstrators abroad, companies and law enforcement acting on sanctions.
Resistance under occupation
The most direct form came from inside Ukraine. On 20 March 2022, residents of Kherson confronted Russian military vehicles and told the crews to go home. It was one of many non-violent actions of its kind. Local people in occupied towns and cities organised protests against the invasion and blocked the movement of Russian military equipment. As the background later recorded, the Russian military dispersed such protests, sometimes with live fire, injuring many and killing some, and most of the large protests ended in March.
Demonstrations abroad
Outside Ukraine, public expression took different shapes. On 20 March 2022, anti-war demonstrators held a concert near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, calling for the war to end. Opinion was not uniform, however. On 19 March 2022, an anti-NATO protest took place in Bulgaria during a meeting between the U.S. Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, and Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov. Participants opposed Bulgaria selling weapons to Ukraine.
Sanctions and corporate withdrawal
Economic measures formed a third strand. On 21 March 2022, the Royal Gibraltar Police seized a superyacht docked at the Port of Gibraltar and owned by Russian oligarch Dmitry Pumpyansky, who was sanctioned by both the United Kingdom and the European Union. On 23 March 2022, the pharmaceutical company Sanofi suspended deliveries of non-essential drugs to Russia and Belarus, while continuing to supply essential and life-changing medicines and vaccines.
Symbols and their meaning
Even symbolism was contested. On 19 March 2022, it was reported that Russian cosmonauts who had recently arrived at the International Space Station in yellow-and-blue suits were not expressing support for Ukraine. They were representing Bauman Moscow State Technical University and its colours.
What the picture shows
Taken together, the reports describe a landscape in which civilian defiance inside Ukraine, mixed public sentiment abroad and enforcement by authorities and firms ran in parallel. The Kherson confrontation stands apart for the risk it carried, while the seizure in Gibraltar and Sanofi's decision show how sanctions and corporate choices were moving from announcement to practice. The Bulgarian protest is a reminder that support for arming Ukraine was not universal, even as other demonstrations called for an end to the war.
