Berlin lifts ban on Ukrainian symbols for V-E Day, Russian flags still prohibited

the Berlin Administrative Court reversed a police order prohibiting the flying of Ukrainian flags close to Soviet monuments on Victory in Europe Day (V-E Day), according to Vitsche, a group of Ukrainian activists in Germany, which posted the news on Twitter on May 5.

According to the group, they won a court hearing on the matter, lifting the ban on Ukrainian flags and songs. At the same time, the ban on displaying Russian flags remains in place, according to public broadcaster rbb

The court called the Berlin police’s decision to outlaw Ukrainian flags “clearly illegal” because they did not provide “any evidence to suggest a threat to public safety.”

“Anyone who exercises their fundamental right to publicly express support for the Ukrainian people and their historical victims in the defeat of National Socialism does not pose a threat to public safety,” said Vitsche’s lawyer, Patrick Heinemann.

The Berlin police said on Twitter that there are no plans to appeal the court’s decision.

Berlin law enforcement had previously prohibited the flying of Russian and Ukrainian flags close to Soviet memorials on May 8 and 9, known as V-E Day. Additionally, “slogans that, in light of the circumstances, could be interpreted as endorsing, glorifying, or heroizing the war in Ukraine” were forbidden.