"The Ukrainian Council of NSW (UCNSW) is shocked at the abhorrent public display in Sydney yesterday of symbols of violence against the Ukrainian community and Ukraine, organised by a convicted criminal russian provocateur.

The Ukrainian community and many Australians are appalled that the symbols of a regime that has murdered countless innocent Ukrainian men, women and children were on parade in Sydney, defiling our beloved national icons, while celebrating a murderous aggressor and an indicted war criminal.
It was also sickening to see a parade of “Z” symbols, the St. George’s Ribbon and insignia of invading Russian army units accompanied by a police convoy of NSW Police cars.

This was not just a celebration of genocide on Australian soil - it was an incitement to violence against a people already fighting for their survival.

The UCNSW and Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) have formally requested an urgent meeting with the NSW Premier, the Attorney General, the Minister for Multiculturalism, Multicultural NSW and the NSW Police to express our deepest concern and outrage about this incident.

We are seeking answers as to why this shameful, pro-war, pro-putin and anti-Ukrainian event was allowed to proceed in Sydney.

We are calling on the Government to act decisively to ensure such sickening events never happen again, and to criminalise the Z symbol - as has already been done in numerous European countries.

These are not new concerns. We have raised these exact issues with NSW Police and the NSW Government previously, following similar hate-fuelled incidents that began in 2014 and intensified following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

This repeated public display of symbols of hate against Ukraine and the Ukrainian community on Sydney’s streets must stop. It is an incitement to violence. "