Proteste a Istanbul — Protests in Istanbul — Ukrainian citizens outside the Russian consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. "Russia's attack on Ukraine is unacceptable and we reject it; we will do everything necessary to guarantee the safety of the Ukrainian people," declared Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan © Burak Kara/Getty Images

Manifestanti a Taipei — Protesters in Taipei — Protesters outside the headquarters of the Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission, in Taiwan © Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images

Proteste contro la Russia negli Usa — Protests against Russia in the US — Protests at Lafayette Park, near the White House in Washington. "Putin has chosen war and will pay the consequences," declared US president Joe Biden © Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Manifestazioni contro la Russia e Georgia — Demonstrations against Russia in Georgia — Thousands of people took to the streets of Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. In 2008, Georgian troops invaded South Ossetia and Russia responded with a military intervention that drove them back in just three days © Daro Sulakauri/Getty Images

Manifestazione per l'indipendenza dell'Ucraina — Demonstration for Ukrainian independence — Protesters in New York. The placard references the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, by which Ukraine committed to dismantling its nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees, independence and territorial integrity from the US, the United Kingdom and Russia © David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

Proteste contro Putin — Protests against Putin — During the demonstration in Vienna, Austria, Putin is depicted with the likeness of Adolf Hitler © Thomas Kronsteiner/Getty Images

Manifestazione all'ambasciata russa di Bangkok — Demonstration at the Russian embassy in Bangkok — Protesters display a Russian flag stained red outside the Russian embassy in Bangkok, Thailand © Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

Manifestazione di solidarietà in Lituania — Solidarity demonstration in Lithuania — A solidarity demonstration with the Ukrainian people in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania © Paulius Peleckis/Getty Images

Porta di Brandeburgo — Brandenburg Gate — The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, lit up in the colours of the Ukrainian flag © Hannibal Hanschke/Getty Images

Proteste contro la Russia a Tokyo — Protests against Russia in Tokyo — Demonstrations outside Shibuya station in Tokyo. Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida expressed strong words of condemnation towards Russia © Takashi Aoyama/Getty Images

Turkey, Italy, Japan, the United States. And then the United Kingdom, Germany, Thailand. On Thursday 24 February, when Vladimir Putin's Russia invaded Ukrainian territory launching the war, citizens from one end of the planet to the other took to the streets to express their solidarity with the Ukrainian people. And to state, loud and clear, their opposition to every form of violence and oppression.

Saint-Petersbourg ce soir, « non à la guerre ».
C’est sans doute peu vu l’ampleur de ce qui est en train de se passer, mais pour les normes russes, c’est beaucoup. pic.twitter.com/Mt8MZ11aUk
— Benoît Vitkine (@benvtk) February 24, 2022

More than 1,700 protesters arrested in Russia

Showing considerable courage, thousands of Russian citizens also openly took a stand against their own government's decisions. First through the internet, with a wave of messages of support for the Ukrainian people published on social media and the petition launched by activist Lev Aleksandrovich Ponomaryov, which is approaching 500,000 signatures. Hundreds of scientists and science journalists also promoted an open letter stating that "there is no rational justification for this war".

Follow LifeGate's liveblog on the war in Ukraine

Despite the Russian Investigative Committee having already announced its intention to treat all unauthorised protests as unlawful, thousands of citizens nonetheless chose to take to the streets in Moscow, St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and other cities. According to information reported by Al Jazeera, on 24 February 1,745 people were arrested across 54 cities. The majority — 957 — were in the capital, Moscow.

From Tokyo to St Petersburg, solidarity with the Ukrainian people is being shown around the world