Polish demonstrators poured red paint on Russian ambassador Sergei Andreyev in front of the Mausoleum of Soviet Soldiers in Warsaw and prevented a Russian delegation from laying their wreaths there, Radio Zachod reported Monday, adding that police ushered the ambassador and the delegation back to their service car.
Посла России в Польше облили красной краской на кладбище советских воиновhttps://t.co/QIOBcDwMBw pic.twitter.com/j6nzsH3dRl
— РИА Новости (@rianru) May 9, 2022
Russia’s Victory Day is a holiday that commemorates the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. The German government surrendered late at night on May 8, 1945, which was past midnight Moscow Time, hence the May 9 commemoration.
Послу рашистів в Польщі розповіли правду. Це знає весь цивілізований світ.
Telegram – https://t.co/GLExONeBFU pic.twitter.com/HEvK3BDx6k— Анатолій Штефан (Штірліц) (@Shtirlitz53) May 9, 2022
On May 9, at noon, the representatives of the Russian embassy led by Ambassador Sergei Andreyev and his wife tried to lay wreaths at the Mausoleum of Soviet Soldiers Cemetery. But they were blocked by numerous demonstrators with Polish and Ukrainian flags, who greeted the Russians with shouts in Ukrainian: “Fascists,” “Assassins,” and “Putin [expletive].”
There were also, “Long live free Ukraine,” “Putin is a terrorist,” and “Putler kaput.”
We looked it up, so you won’t have to: Putler, often extended to “Vladolf Putler,” is a derogatory buzzword formed by merging the names of Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler. Often used in the slogan “Putler Kaput!” and by people opposed to Putin. The term has a negative connotation.
Andreyev was drenched in a red substance and he and the accompanying members of the delegation, including bodyguards, were accompanied by policemen back to the service car that had initially been surrounded by demonstrators.
Warsaw police tweeted: “Earlier, in the territory of the Mausoleum of Soviet Soldiers, we were forced to intervene. We will inform you about the details after the end of the activities.”
The director-general of the Polish Ministry of Interior and Administration, Mariusz Kaminski, tweeted: “Polish authorities did not recommend to the Russian ambassador to put flowers on May 9 in Warsaw,” and added, “The police allowed the ambassador to safely leave the scene.”
Not what you call a heartfelt apology…
As Kaminski also noted that “the gathering of opponents of Russian aggression against Ukraine, where the crime of genocide takes place every day, was legal.” And, “The emotions of Ukrainian women taking part in the demonstration, whose husbands are fighting bravely in defense of their homeland, are understandable.”
According to TASS, “the Russian envoy arrived at the cemetery in a diplomatic car with a Russian flag. After Andreyev got out of the vehicle, he was surrounded by an aggressive crowd, which had earlier gathered at the memorial with Ukrainian flags, sheets doused with red paint, and anti-Russian slogans. There were no police at the square. The diplomats were able to take several dozen steps, but the crowd did not let them go any further.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday that “a resolute protest was lodged to the Polish authorities for conniving with actually Neo-Nazi thugs.”
Do you really have to be a neo-Nazi to be anti-Russian? No non-Nazis need apply?
The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded that the Polish government “immediately arrange a wreath-laying ceremony, ensuring complete security against any provocations,” noting: “We expect Poland to take the necessary measures as soon as today.”
According to the Polish Press Agency, eventually, Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau expressed regret over the crowd assault on the Russian ambassador: “What happened today during a wreath-laying ceremony by the graves of Soviet soldiers is an incident that should not have taken place, it is undoubtedly a regrettable incident. Diplomats have special protection regardless of the policies of the governments that they represent.”
Polish Minister of State Assets Jacek Sasin said at a press conference: “It’s wrong when a representative of another country comes under assault, even if it is the ambassador of a country such as Russia who pursues an aggressive policy towards its neighbors”
“However, I understand the feelings of those who conducted the assault,” he added.
