A billboard proclaiming Russia to be a “peaceful” country appeared across from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Tuesday, an apparent dig by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) aimed at Washington as Americans celebrated their Independence Day.
“Welcome to our peaceful country,” read the billboard in the colors of the Russian flag, set against the backdrop of the Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral.
“With compliments of the house, FSB,” it continued.
The security agency’s official emblem could be seen in the billboard’s bottom-right corner.
The independent Sota news outlet first drew attention to the billboard, which it said was located on a street Russian authorities last year renamed “1 Donetsk People’s Republic Square” in honor of the Moscow-backed separatist territory in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow’s state-funded daily Vechernyaya Moskva noted that the billboard’s caption was identical to one displayed near the U.S. Embassy in January.
Vechernyaya Moskva reported at the time that the FSB billboard had appeared in response to online FBI ads that sought to recruit Russian citizens to spy on Moscow.
