Russia’s embassy in Ireland short on heating, hot water after diesel delivery cut

Russia’s embassy in Dublin reportedly asked the Irish government to intervene as it ran short of heating and hot water.

The embassy’s fuel provider refused to deliver diesel, it said in a letter to the government dated March 22, according to the Irish Mirror.

The embassy said other providers “refused to cooperate” and requested the foreign affairs ministry intervenes “into this clearly discriminatory case,” the newspaper reported.

The development comes after a large truck crashed through the embassy gates last month as part of a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Ireland asked four Russian officials to leave the state on March 29. Bank of Ireland Group Plc also suspended the embassy’s accounts, the Irish Mirror said, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter. The bank declined to comment.

The Department of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Russian Ambassador said they couldn’t comment on communications with third parties.

Protesters outside the Russian embassy in Dublin have been “rough and really aggressive” according to ambassador Yury Filatov, The Irish Times reported on March 4 citing an interview Filatov gave to TV station Russia 24.

Filatov described the situation in Ireland as “frankly difficult,” the newspaper reported.