COLOGNE, Germany ¨C In a square beneath the twin spires of Cologne¡¯s gothic cathedral, around 2,000 protesters gathered in September to urge Germany¡¯s government to break with the Western coalition backing Ukraine and make peace with Russia.
¡°We must stop being vassals of the Americans,¡± rightwing German politician Markus Beisicht said from a makeshift stage on the back of a truck. The crowd clapped and waved Russian and German flags.
A lean man in camouflage trousers stood at the side of the stage, obscured from the crowd by a tarpaulin. A few meters away, a burly man in dark sunglasses stood guard. The rally¡¯s organizers did not welcome questions. Most declined to speak when approached by reporters. One protester tried to persuade a police officer to arrest a reporter as a Ukrainian spy.
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