Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergei Andreev was doused in red paint as he tried to lay a wreath at the Soviet soldiers’ cemetery in Warsaw, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Monday.
The war in Ukraine has cast a shadow over this year’s Victory Day, as Moscow honors the 27 million Soviet citizens who lost their lives in World War II. Poland, a strong supporter of Ukraine in its resistance to Russian invasion, opposed any large-scale commemoration.
Video footage posted to Twitter showed the protesters, some with Ukrainian flags, surrounding the Russian delegation and chanting “fascists” before the ambassador was doused in the red substance, see below.
Russian ambassador had a hard time today in Warsaw. People chant into his face: “Fascists!” #StandWithUkraine #StopPutinNOW #ArmUkraineNow pic.twitter.com/erZsfB7MEs
— olexander scherba🇺🇦 (@olex_scherba) May 9, 2022
Ambassador Sergey Andreev told reporters that he and his team were not seriously injured in the incident, the TASS news agency reported.
“We will make a formal protest,” he said. “When they recommended that we not hold a larger event, we met them halfway through, trying not to make the situation worse.”
Referring to the incident, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed via Telegram that “fans of neo-Nazism have once again shown their face – and it is bloody”.
“The demolition of monuments to the heroes of the Second World War, the desecration of graves and now the interruption of the flower-laying ceremony on a holy day, celebrated by every decent person, proves the obvious – the West has set a course for the reincarnation of the fascism,” she said.
Earlier in the day, the words “Kill Putin” were found written in blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, on a monument in the cemetery, private broadcaster TVN24 reported. The graffiti was later removed.
A protester interviewed by TVN24 said it was good that the ambassador was covered in red.
“With all our hearts, we stand with Mariupol,” she said, referring to the southeastern Ukrainian city that has been ravaged by war.
More than three million Ukrainians have fled to Poland since the war began on February 24.
Poland, home to the Solidarity trade union, which played a key role in overthrowing communism in Central and Eastern Europe, has long had a tense relationship with Russia and has been advocating tough sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent troops to Ukraine in what he calls a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine. Ukraine and the West say Putin has launched a war of unprovoked aggression.
A spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry said he had no immediate comment on the incident. A police spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
*with information from Reuters
Source: CNN Brasil
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