Ukrainian flag flies at Foreign Ministry; Russian flag taken down in Rotterdam

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised the Ukrainian flag outside their offices in The Hague on Monday. The ministry posted an image on social media of the flag flying side-by-side with the Dutch flag.

“The Netherlands condemns the Russian invasion in the strongest possible terms. #StandWithUkraine,” the ministry wrote on Twitter. The photograph is meant to demonstrate Dutch solidarity with the invaded country.

As one flag went up in The Hague, another went down in Rotterdam. The city council there made the decision to remove the Russian flag from the flag parade in the Boompjes neighborhood on Sunday. On Monday, the Ukrainian flag was added to the main mast of the gallery, according to AD news.

This is not the only place where the flag flew in Rotterdam. On Thursday it was also hoisted outside city hall and the Erasmus bridge lit up in blue and yellow to show support.

The International Flag Parade is comprised of over 200 masts that hold the flags of all UN countries, alongside the 174 nationalities that make up the city of Rotterdam. Unfortunately, the parade was badly hit by storm Eunice last week; more than 20 flagpoles were broken.

The Hague has a similar flag parade representing all UN countries, but decided not to remove the Russian flag. Despite the "unprecedented act of aggression" by Russia, the country "is still a member of the United Nations," the city said.