A group of protestors who have been demonstrating against the war in Ukraine have decided to stop their weekly gatherings in Kenilworth after three years.

Silvia Fuchss first decided to protest against Russia's invasion on Sunday 27 February 2022, just three days after the conflict began.

After first standing at the war memorial at Abbey Fields alone, she was joined by other locals and in the weeks that followed, more and more people joined to make their voices heard.

For Silvia - who grew up in Germany in the shadow of the Cold War, before moving to England - it was important to do something.

"The Americans went [from where she grew up] pretty quickly after the Berlin Wall came down and the Cold War was over, it was a very significant moment in my life, this thawing of the east and west blocs," she told Nub News. 

"We grew up in an overall global, political thawing. 

"I never thought, 30 years later, my children would see anything like war in Europe."

The last weekly protest at the war memorial in Kenilworth (image supplied)

She continued: "The significance of Russia invading Ukraine, I just thought you have to protest against it. 

"And you cannot always go to London to protest, you have to protest in front of your doorstep as well. 

"I wanted to raise awareness against the war."

Over the first year of the conflict, the protestors gathered at the war memorial on Saturdays and Sundays before moving to just Saturdays as the months passed.

The group were present almost every weekend at the memorial, through the holidays and the winter.

"From one, then it became two. We never had any huge numbers, but we did have maybe 15 on some days," Silvia said. 

"We have done it from the very beginning. 

"This last Saturday is the last of the regular ones."

Local charity the Cycling Recycler has also been thanked for helping as the group connected two Ukrainian children in Kenilworth to help get them a bike.

Their mother said this helped get them "some joy and normality".

While she said many people have been appreciative of the group, shown support, or asked questions, there has been criticism over the three years.

"Of course you cannot expect that everyone shares your opinion, and there have been occasions where people have beeped their horns angrily, or shouted out or put their thumbs down at us," Silvia said. 

"One man on a bike even shouted out 'war keeps the population down'."

The group has slowly grown over the past three years (image supplied)

Others said the group were wasting their time, while one pair of elderly couples even told them they were disrespecting the war memorial by holding the protest there.

Silvia simply said: "I cannot imagine feeling offended about people protesting a war in Ukraine, at the war memorial. Surely there is no better place to actually protest a war." 

Three years later though, the group has decided it will no longer meet on a weekly basis, citing a "numbness" and "tiredness" to news on the conflict.

There will still be ad hoc gatherings at the War Memorial.

But looking back on the last three years, Silvia said she was "grateful" for the group's efforts, despite the "horrible background" that had forced it to meet.

"Definitely there is a feeling of pride," she explained. 

"We have connected a lot of people, particularly at the very beginning. 

"We have helped Ukrainian people get connected locally, and there were Ukrainian people who were grateful that there were people standing up for them, particularly outside London."

The Ukrainian flag was raised outside Jubilee House this February (image via Kenilworth Town Council)