Russian Ambassador to Poland, Sergey Andreev, was blasted with red paint by protesters during Moscow's celebration of Victory Day amid the continuing invasion of Ukraine.
The official was traveling to lay flowers at the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday when he was met by demonstrators who opposed the war. Some of the protesters were seen carrying Ukrainian flags and could be heard shouting "fascist" and "murderer" at Andreev.
Russian Ambassador Attacked
Video of the protest was captured by Russia's state-run Ria news agency and came as Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the demonstration served to "confirm what is already clear: The West has set a course to revive Nazism."
Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has repeatedly claimed, without any basis or evidence, that its neighboring country has been taken over by Nazis. It has continued to use this reasoning as an excuse to wage war on the nation.
A Polish member of parliament, Pawel Zalewski, said after the protest that his country should be prepared for Russian retaliation against Polish diplomats in Moscow. While images of the incident were captured, it was not clear who the protesters were, as per Business Insider.
In an interview, Andreev said that he and his team were not seriously hurt during the incident or after being hit by the red paint. The protesters also prevented the ambassador from laying flowers at the cemetery and forced police to escort the official away from the area.
Russia's foreign ministry, after the incident, demanded Warsaw organize a new wreath-laying ceremony immediately and said Poland should "ensure complete protection against any provocations."
According to The Guardian, Russia's war against Ukraine has overshadowed this year's Victory Day when the former remembers the 27 million Soviet citizens who lost their lives in the second world war. Poland, which has accepted millions of Ukrainian refugees, has opted to cancel all official commemorations of the anniversary.
Russia-Ukraine War
The Russian embassy located in Poland said after the incident that it would file a formal protest against the attack. The country's ministry called the people responsible for the assault "admirers of neo-Nazism."
In a message on Telegram, Zakharova said that the demolition of monuments to the heroes of World War II, the desecration of graves, and the disruption of the flower-laying ceremony on a holiday proved what was already obvious. She said that the West has already set a course for the reincarnation of fascism.
Russia's claims that Ukraine was led by Nazis are contradicted by the fact that President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish. Moscow has also claimed that its forces were fighting the war in an attempt to "denazify" the nation.
Ukrainian on the other hand is resisting the invasion and said that Russian leaders and troops were "rashists," a coinage for Russian fascists. They added that Moscow's military forces were the ones who were acting more like Nazis.
The Russian embassy was forced to delay its plans for a march to mark Victory Day this year and opted to organize a wreath-laying ceremony. But even before Andreev arrived, pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian protesters clashed, the Washington Post reported.
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