A group of Iranians has planned a demonstration at the Ukrainian embassy in the capital Tehran to express sympathy for Ukraine as Russia sent 100,000 troops to occupy the country.

The gathering is scheduled to start at 19:00 (local time) in front of the embassy building where people plan to hold a candlelight vigil for the lives lost during the Russian invasion.

It is still not clear if Iran’s government, an ally of Russia, will permit the gathering.

Many social media users have said that the rally should be instead held in front of the Russian embassy, but the likelihood of authorities not allowing a gathering there is much higher.

Russia’s attacks on the capital Kyiv and several other cities have been met with fierce resistance, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying that “The occupiers wanted to block the center of our state... We broke their plan.”

Iran officially blames US and NATO's “provocations” for the crisis, reiterating support for the Russian invasion.

Iran's state television, operating under the control of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has been supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine during the past three days.

As President Ebrahim Raisi rushed to express support for Russia on the first day of the invasion, observers on social media said the sheer fact that he called Vladimir Putin in this situation, put the Islamic Republic in an embarrassing situation.