The Japan Times - Pussy Riot stages pre-election Berlin show for Ukraine

The band were the star turn at a demonstration organised by Russian dissidents who called on Germany's election winner to keep supporting Kyiv's efforts to stave off Russia's military onslaught.

In their high-voltage show, Pussy Riot highlighted Bucha, a Ukrainian town where Russian forces were accused of atrocities, and "the howls of Mariupol", the Black Sea city that suffered a gruelling Russian siege.

Their signature punk attire this time included a "stand with Ukraine" T-shirt and balaclavas in blue and yellow, the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

The activist group gained notoriety in 2012 when three members were arrested in Moscow on hooliganism charges for staging a protest in an Orthodox church.

In Berlin, around 200 people braved a chilly winter afternoon for the event at the iconic Brandenburg Gate, many shouting "no to the war" in Russian as they waited for the band to take the stage.

Earlier the crowd heard from Kevin Lick, a German-Russian dual national freed from a Russian jail last year as part of a major prisoner swap.

He had been arrested aged 17 and convicted of treason over charges he said were "politically motivated".

In a thinly veiled reference to recent comments by US President Donald Trump suggesting Ukraine started the war, Lick condemned "perfidious attempts to blame the victim" in the conflict.

He also said peace talks without Ukraine at the table were "unacceptable and dangerous".

- 'Against the regime' -

Several other artists and writers called on Germans to reject Russia-friendly parties at Sunday's election.

Many demonstrators carried signs against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as well as against the "left-wing conservative" BSW, both of which have criticised Germany's military support of Ukraine.

"Those who vote for Putin's friends are voting for the downfall of Europe," read one placard, with crosses over the names of the AfD and BSW.

The AfD is polling in second place at 20 percent or more while the BSW is hoping to scrape past the five percent threshold to make it into parliament.

"As a Russian citizen, for me it's important to be here and show that I'm against the Russian regime," 36-year-old demonstrator Vyacheslav told AFP.

"It's important, a day before the German election, to show that there are people against far-right extremism."

The centre-right CDU/CSU is tipped to come first in Sunday's vote and has pledged to continue Berlin's military support of Ukraine.

Germany has been the country's second-biggest supplier of aid after the United States under centre-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

T.Ueda--JT