Russian ambassador attacked with red paint in Poland on Victory Day anniversary

Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergei Andreev was attacked with red paint while laying flowers at the military memorial cemetery of Soviet soldiers in Warsaw on the anniversary of Victory Day, state news agency TASS reported on Monday.

“The ambassador of the Russian Federation, his wife and a group of diplomats who accompanied him were doused with red paint and were not allowed to go to the memorial,” TASS reported.

“After getting out of the car, he was surrounded by an aggressive crowd that had previously gathered at this memorial site with Ukrainian flags, red-painted sheets and anti-Russian slogans,” TASS said.

The report added that individuals who arrived at the cemetery to pay their respects with flowers shouted that the Russian ambassador and his companions did not have the right to pay tribute to the memory of the Soviet soldiers and celebrate Victory Day.

The police then surrounded the diplomats and helped them to their car.

May 9 is the anniversary of Victory Day when Nazi Germany was defeated at the end of World War II.

Russian President Vladimir Putin used the memory of Soviet victory to encourage his army to win the war in Ukraine.

Moscow labels its invasion of Ukraine, launched on February 24, a “special military opertation” aimed at “de-nazifying” the country among its goals.