Demonstrators in Munich, Germany have called for peace between Moscow and Kiev, as well as in the Middle East

Thousands of people have marched in Munich, Germany to call for an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the fighting in the Middle East.

The protest on Saturday was organized by the ver.di trade union, with the slogan: ‘You will not prepare me for war’.

The demonstrators urged the government in Berlin to stop arms shipments to Israel and Ukraine, and instead use the money for social needs at home.

Footage from Ruptly video agency shows protesters carrying Palestinian and Lebanese flags and banners reading: “No 100 billion for armaments and war,” “Stop the genocide in Gaza,” and “Free Palestine.”

Some placards referred to the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, with one saying: “No Taurus missiles in Ukraine.” Kiev has for months been pressuring German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to supply it with long-range Taurus missiles. But Scholz has so far been reluctant to do so, saying it poses “a great risk of escalation.”

An inflatable sculpture of arms holding a broken machine gun was also erected in Odeonsplatz in central Munich.

The ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon are “unacceptable,” Claudia Weber, the managing director of ver.di Munich, told the crowd. “Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel must finally come to a ceasefire, all warring parties must immediately stop firing on the civilian population.”

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“We do not want to become capable of war, but capable of peace,” another speaker, Walter Listl from the Munich Peace Alliance, said, calling for “a ceasefire and negotiations immediately for Ukraine and the Middle East.”

Last year, Germany’s arms exports to Israel increased tenfold compared to 2022, reaching €326.5 million ($363.5 million). However, they declined drastically in 2024, falling to just €14.5 million from January to late August, according to data from the German Economy Ministry.

The government in Berlin has allocated €28 billion in military assistance for Ukraine. Earlier this week, Scholz promised another €1.4 billion in aid as he met with Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky. “Germany is the strongest military supporter of Ukraine in Europe. It will stay that way. I can assure you of that,” the chancellor told Zelensky.

Moscow has warned that deliveries of weapons to Kiev by the US and EU nations will not prevent Russia from achieving its military goals in the conflict, but will merely prolong the fighting and increase the risk of a direct confrontation with NATO. According to Russian officials, the provision of arms, the sharing of intelligence, and the training of Ukrainian troops means that Western nations have already become de-facto parties to the conflict.