In Warsaw, Russiaʼs ambassador was covered in red paint — the Kremlin called it “the revival of fascism in Europe”

Author:
Sofiia Telishevska
Date:

In the Polish capital, Warsaw, on May 9, Ukrainian journalist Iryna Zemlyana spray-painted Russian Ambassador Sergei Andreev, who was trying to lay a wreath at the cemetery of Soviet soldiers.

After the protest, Andreev, accompanied by police, left the scene.

The video of the incident was first published by the Russian newspaper RIA Novosti, but there was no sound. Later, the Insider published the same video, where people could be heard shouting "fascists" and "Putin is a d*ck" at the Russians.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called it a "reincarnation of fascism in Europe."

It later turned out that Ukrainian media expert Iryna Zemlyana had spray-painted the ambassador. She told how it happened.

Polandʼs reaction

Polish Minister of Internal Affairs Mariusz Kaminsky said that the Polish authorities did not recommend the ambassador to lay flowers on May 9.

"Gathering opponents of Russiaʼs aggression against Ukraine, where the crime of genocide takes place every day, was legal. The emotions of Ukrainian women participating in the demonstration, whose men are fighting bravely to defend their homeland, are understandable," he wrote on Twitter.

  • This year, May 9 in Ukraine is a little different than in previous years. As the pro-Russian "Opposition Platform for Life" party was banned, there were no large-scale rallies in Ukrainian cities like in previous years.