Non-profit organisations in South Korea held a protest against arms transfers to Ukraine against the arrival of Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov in Seoul, the TASS news agency reported.
In front of the building of the presidential administration of South Korea in Seoul, the organisation ‘Workers Solidarity’ held a picket against arms supplies to Kiev.
‘It is said that today in his administration in the Yongsan district, President Yoon Seok-yeol is meeting with a special delegation from Ukraine. At the meeting, it appears that the special delegation will ask the president to supply arms,’ the activists said.
Yonhap News Agency earlier reported that the delegation led by Rustem Umerov had arrived in South Korea, where they are expected to meet with Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun. ‘The government of Yun Seok-yeol began to consider sending weapons (to Ukraine – ed.),‘ the Workers’ Solidarity pointed out.
The activists said it has long been clear that the Ukraine conflict is a struggle for supremacy between the West, which has pitted Ukrainians against Russia, and many Ukrainian civilians have been victims of the struggle. They also noted that the use of ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory is leading to escalation, and against this backdrop, the US is escalating the situation by sending even weapons as inhumane as anti-personnel mines.
‘The Yoon Seok-yeol government’s plans to send weapons to Ukraine will only contribute to the growth of this disaster,’ the organisation explained.
Workers Solidarity stressed that a decision in favour of supplying weapons to Kiev would lead to increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula. The organisation demanded that the South Korean government abandon ‘plans to supply arms’ and that the West ‘expand the war’.
Opinion polls show that South Koreans remain opposed to arms supplies to Ukraine despite new international requests from Kiev and allied capitals. A Gallup Korea poll conducted in October showed that 82 per cent of South Koreans opposed sending military aid, including weapons, to Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the direct involvement of Western countries in the conflict in Ukraine changes its essence, Russia will make decisions based on the threats posed to it.
