German police order the withdrawal of a huge Ukrainian flag .. and Kiev denounces a "mistake"
Kyiv condemned on Sunday a "mistake" made by Germany after German police ordered demonstrators gathered in front of the Soviet monument in Berlin to withdraw a huge Ukrainian flag they had raised in protest against the Russian invasion.
"Berlin made a mistake by banning Ukrainian symbols. Treating it on an equal footing with Russian symbols is a grave mistake," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
"It is an attack on all those who are currently defending Europe and Germany in the face of Russian aggression," he added.
German police prevented demonstrators gathered in front of the Soviet monument in Berlin from raising a huge Ukrainian flag on the eve of Russia's commemoration of Victory Day on May 9 to commemorate the victory over Nazism in 1945.
"To maintain the peace and respect of the celebration in the first place, our colleagues made sure to fold a Ukrainian flag about 25 meters long," Berlin police wrote on Twitter after the flag was published.
Fearing clashes, especially with pro-Russian activists, Berlin police announced on Friday a ban on the deployment of flags or military symbols in about fifteen locations in the German capital during the commemoration of the end of World War II, which continues on Monday.
The decision sparked an uproar, especially among the Ukrainian community.
Ukraine's ambassador to Germany Andrei Melnik described the decision as "scandalous" and a "slap for Ukraine".
The diplomat was notorious for not softening his words to German leaders, laying a wreath in blue and yellow for his country in front of the Soviet memorial, in the heart of Berlin in the morning.
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