Civilians in war-torn Syria have been watching the Russian invasion of Ukraine with mixed feelings. For many, the war recalls their own plight.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has backed his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad since 2011, when a revolution against Assad turned into a protracted civil war that has displaced some 13 million people and killed nearly half a million, according to the United Nations.
As soon as the Russian invasion of Ukraine began on Thursday, Aziz al-Asmar, a Syrian graffiti artist, was preparing to paint a mural expressing solidarity with Ukraine.
“My colleagues and I have painted murals on the walls of our houses destroyed by Putin-backed Assad, to show our support for the Ukrainian people,” Asmar told Middle East Eye.
“Russia does not care about shedding the blood of thousands of innocent people, for its own interests,” Asmar said, from in front of a mural he painted on the wall of a house bombed during the war east of Idlib province.
“We have suffered a lot by false Russian promises. I hope the Ukrainians will not suffer,” he added.
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