Russia’s ambassador to Poland was blocked by activists from laying flowers at a Soviet memorial in Warsaw on Tuesday, the day Russia celebrates Victory Day over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Several dozen activists also unveiled an art installation at the entrance to the memorial, comprising hundreds of Ukrainian flags and crosses for Ukrainians killed during the Russian invasion.
The installation included several mock-ups of residential buildings destroyed by Russian shelling in different Ukrainian cities.
Russian ambassador Sergei Andreyev tried to place a wreath at the mausoleum but was confronted by pro-Ukrainian activists and was eventually forced to lay the flowers at the entrance to the site.
“As you can see, we are facing an obvious disturbance of public order. Unfortunately, for the second time, we were unable to lay wreaths at the monument to Soviet soldiers who died here in the fight against fascism,” Andreyev said.
Andreyev was met with protests at the same site last year when activists threw red paint at him.
Viktoria Pogrebniak, from the pro-Ukrainian organization Euromaidan, said the aim of the protest action was “to show the consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
“Of course, they will try to show how they are still fighting with fascism… In fact, they are the ones who started fascism all over again, who gave it another name,” she said.
Euromaidan activists called on Poland to expel Russia’s ambassador.
“We, of course, cannot demand anything. We only can ask. But our request… is to see that Russian diplomats are sent away from Poland, are sent away from the civilized world, as they do not belong here anymore,” Pogrebniak said.