Russian Ambassador to Poland, Ambassador Sergey Andreev is covered with red paint in Warsaw, Poland. Photo: AP Photo/Maciek Luczniewski
Russia’s ambassador to Poland was hit with red paint by activists protesting the war in Ukraine as he attempted to mark Russia’s Victory Day – the country’s annual national celebration of its role in helping to defeat Nazi Germany.Sergey Andreev was visiting a cemetery in Warsaw where Russian soldiers who died in World War II are buried when a group of anti-war protesters surrounded him and began throwing fistfuls of paint at him. Video footage also shows the crowd chanting “fascist” at the ambassador.
The incident comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin used his Victory Day speech at a parade in Moscow’s Red Square to once again justify his invasion of Ukraine by falsely claiming that the West was “preparing an invasion of our land.” Meanwhile, in a speech Monday at the National Army Museum, the UK’s defence secretary Ben Wallace responded to Putin’s claim and Russia’s ongoing actions by calling for the Russian president and his generals to face war crime trials. "Putin, his inner circle and generals are now mirroring the fascism and tyranny of 70 years ago, repeating the errors of last century's totalitarian regimes,” Wallace said.