“We simply want peace”: Association of Russians and Ukrainians are concerned
Larisa Levitskaya has been running the Organic Vision restaurant on the Mijnplein in Ostend for four years now. Her brothers still live in Ukraine and the unexpected brutal raid shocks her and her Ukrainian employees.
They know quite a bit about Russians and our country and their relationship is very good. In Ostend and Bruges there are associations of ‘Russian speaking people’ that meet regularly. There are both Russians and Ukrainians in it, but the atmosphere is great. “We occasionally get together in small groups of twelve or 24, but we remain friends despite this difficult situation.”
“We want peace”
They are concerned about what is happening now. The war is bad for the Ukrainian and Russian population, they say. “It’s not good for either side, both Russians and Ukrainians. The two countries used to be together all the time and we really hate that, both Russians and Ukrainians. We want peace, simply peace.”