Protest Against COVID-19 Vaccination Held in Kyiv

Most demonstrators chanted against mandatory vaccination, but there were also supporters of flat-Earth-level conspiracy theories.

A large-scale protest against COVID-19 vaccination took place in Kyiv. The march, held in the morning in the middle of the working week, blocked a number of streets in the city center.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Minister of Health Viktor Liashko called the event "mockery of doctors and relatives of those who died from coronavirus". 

March Against Vaccination

The march of "anti-vaxxers" in the capital began on the morning of November 3 at the square near the Verkhovna Rada. Despite the rain and the middle of the working week, several hundred people came to the walls of parliament.

The protesters' main demands were rather muddled: some called for the cancellation of quarantine restrictions and mandatory vaccination under the guise of "human rights," while others were far more radical, promoting conspiracy theories such as "chipping through vaccines" and "controlling people through implanted chips and 5G."

For example, in the video below (may contain profanity), one vaccinated person whose path was blocked by protesters was seriously called a "chipped robot."

Supporters of the "Russian World" also made their presence felt, broadcasting elements of Russian propaganda about the alleged "division of Ukrainians and Russians by the Ukrainian authorities." 

Later, participants of the action blocked the government quarter in several places, occasionally quarreling with police.

The protesters only let ambulances through. Police had to calm drivers and repeatedly ask demonstrators to let through cars with blue license plates.

A police officer driving such a vehicle had to show his identification, and only after that was he able to drive from Hrushevskoho Street to Kriepostnoi Lane.

The following streets were blocked:

• Hrushevskoho Street, 5 (near the Dynamo Stadium)
• Kriepostnoi Lane, 30/1 (near the House of Officers)
  
• Kriepostnoi Lane, 30/1 (near the House of Officers)
  
• intersection: Lipska Street, Instytutska Street (near the National Hotel)
  
• intersection: Instytutska Street, Olhynska Street
  
• intersection: Olhynska Street, Ivan Franko Square
• intersection: Lutheranska Street, Kruhlouniversytetska Street
  
• intersection: Lutheranska Street, Zankovetska Street
  
• Parkova Street, 35
  

Nadiya Savchenko, a former people's deputy, also expressed support for the action; a few weeks ago, she and her sister were detained at the airport with fake COVID certificates.

However, following the march, police did not record any violations of the law.

Statement by the Minister of Health

Health Minister Viktor Liashko commented on the anti-vaccination march, calling on people to get vaccinated against coronavirus. He noted that the anti-vaccination spirit disappears within the walls of intensive care units.

Viktor Liashko
Minister of Health of Ukraine

I want to address separately the gathering of people we see today calling on others not to get vaccinated. In my view, this is mockery of our medics and of families who have lost their loved ones. Believe me, in intensive care this anti-vaccination spirit quickly disappears. And fake certificates do not work there. I very much want you to realize this right now.

Liashko urged people not to believe fakes from social media, and to rely only on verified information from the websites of the Ministry of Health, the WHO and the Public Health Center, and to think critically.

According to Liashko, one in three adults in Ukraine has already received at least one dose of the vaccine, and one in four is fully vaccinated.

He also expects that in the coming weeks demand for second doses will double, while demand for first doses will not decline.