Russian envoy to Poland hit with red paint at war cemetery
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The Russian ambassador to Poland was painted red by anti- war protesters in Ukraine , preventing him from paying tribute to Red Army soldiers killed during World War II at a Warsaw cemetery on Monday. .
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, condemned the attack, saying in an attachment to her message that "we will not be afraid" while "the people of Europe should be afraid to see their reflection." "
Polish Foreign Minister Zbign-Rau described the incident as "extremely tragic".
"Diplomats enjoy special protections, regardless of the policies of the governments they represent," he said.
Ambassador Sergei Andre arrived to lay flowers at the Soviet soldiers' cemetery on Victory Day commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany at the hands of the Allies. Russia's most important patriotic holiday was celebrated with pomp in a parade on Moscow's Red Square.
Arriving at the Soviet military cemetery in the Polish capital, Andre was greeted by hundreds of activists opposed to the Russian war in Ukraine. The protesters first took the wreath he was about to place in the cemetery and trampled on it. Red paint was thrown on his back, while the protester next to him threw a large smear on his face.
The protesters carried Ukrainian flags, chanted "fascists" and "murderers" in Russian, while some wore white sheets painted red, symbolizing Ukrainian victims of the Russian war. Other people around him were also seen painted red.
Zakharova said that "neo-Nazi supporters once showed their faces." He said the attack, along with the Soviet military's removal of monuments to World War II heroes, reflected the "process of the reincarnation of fascism."
Some Russian commentators have suggested that the attack on Moscow's ambassador could lead him to back down and ask the Polish ambassador to leave.
The Polish government has been criticized for not providing more reassurance to the ambassador, leading to an incident that Russia could use to portray Poland as anti-Moscow.
Among the critics was former Interior Minister Bartholomäus Sienkich, who said he could not understand why there was no longer protection for the ambassador, while for weeks one could "feel how May 9 could end in Warsaw".
However, Poland's current interior minister said the Polish government had advised the ambassador not to lay flowers at the cemetery, noting that police helped him get out of the scene safely.
"The meeting of opponents of Russian aggression against Ukraine, where the crime of genocide takes place every day, was legal," Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski added. "The feelings of the Ukrainian women taking part in the protest are understandable, whose husbands are fighting bravely to defend their homeland."
Demonstrators marched in Warsaw on Sunday night protesting the war, loading a tank onto a tractor and parking it in front of the Russian embassy. Since the beginning of the war on February 24, images of Ukrainian tractors emerging from Russian tanks have been symbols of the Ukrainian resistance.
The Soviet Cemetery is located in a large park on the route that connects the city center with the international airport. It is the last refuge for more than 20,000 Red Army soldiers who died fighting on Polish soil helping to defeat Nazi Germany.
Although Poland removed some Red Army monuments after the fall of the Moscow-backed communist government, it allowed the cemetery to remain intact. Although Soviet troops defeated the Nazis, early in the war Soviet forces invaded Poland, secretly colluded with the German Nazi government, and committed atrocities against Poland, including mass executions and deportations to Siberia.
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