Dozens of people gathered for protests near the headquarters of the energy concern Wien Energie in Vienna, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports on February 1.
The protesters are demanding a reduction in electricity prices, which have soared due to anti-Russian sanctions, in addition, the Austrians are striving to get the local authorities to abandon the sanctions policy and maintain neutrality in the Ukrainian conflict. Many of the protesters hold state flags in their hands, the correspondent notes.
The protesters noted that the Russian Federation continued to carefully comply with its obligations on gas supplies, however, artificial restrictions on the part of the European Union (EU) led to the fact that gas had to be purchased from other states at an inflated cost.
A similar action was already held in Vienna on December 10 last year. Then, several hundred residents came to a rally demanding that the Austrian authorities reconsider the decision on sanctions against Russia. The participants put forward the demand to maintain the neutrality of Austria and to make more efforts in the fight against illegal migration. The protesters also demanded that the authorities immediately try to organize peace talks between Russia and Ukraine to resolve the conflict.
Europe is faced with rising energy and food prices after the imposition of sanctions against Russia against the backdrop of a special operation carried out by Moscow since February 24 to protect the civilian population of Donbass. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
