"No dirty tricks will embarrass us": Russian diplomats in Warsaw announced a provocation at the memorial to Soviet soldiers

The Russian ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreev, was prevented from laying flowers at the memorial cemetery in Warsaw. As reported by RIA Novosti, an aggressive crowd blocked the diplomats' path and demanded that they remove the St. George ribbons attached to their clothes. According to the agency, the delegation had to leave the memorial. Andreev himself said that he was not injured.

"This time it is clear that there was a clear installation: the police surrounded us, and the protesters did not reach out with their hands and feet," RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

The diplomat called the incident a disgrace and a violation of public order. He noted that he appealed to the senior police officer with a question whether what was happening was in accordance with the letter of the law.

According to Andreev, the policeman called what was happening an official event sanctioned by the mayor's office. "And he asks us to consider the possibility of leaving and, maybe, coming at another time," the ambassador said.

At the same time, Andreev stressed that the incident will not unbalance Russian diplomats. "No matter what provocations our ill-wishers arrange, it will always be our holiday, this is our Victory, and victory will always be ours," he said.

According to the diplomat, the delegation had to "turn around and leave."

"It doesn't change anything for us. This is our holiday. We note it with optimism. No small or big dirty tricks will embarrass us, "TASS quoted him as saying.

Recall that on May 9, 2022, Andreev was attacked in Warsaw. The diplomat was doused with red paint while trying to lay a wreath at the cemetery of Soviet soldiers. The Russian Foreign Ministry then expressed a strong protest because of the incident, which occurred, as noted in the department, with the complete inaction of the police.

The Russian Embassy will also send a note of protest to the Austrian Foreign Ministry to the russian.rt.com after the desecration of the burial site

In addition, on May 9, 2023, the Russian embassy in Austria reported that vandals had desecrated a Soviet military grave in Ebenfurt. It is specified that unknown persons damaged the bas-relief on the monument to the soldiers who died during the liberation of Austria from the Nazis. The embassy called especially cynical the fact that the incident occurred against the backdrop of the celebration of Victory Day.

"We will immediately inform the local authorities about the incident. We will send a note of protest to the Austrian Foreign Ministry demanding that exhaustive measures be taken to establish the circumstances of the incident, bring the perpetrators to justice, ensure the inviolability and safety of the memorial in accordance with the provisions of the State Treaty on the Restoration of an Independent and Democratic Austria of May 15, 1955," the diplomatic mission said in a statement.

It should be noted that the participants of the celebrations in honor of Victory Day in a number of other European countries also faced provocations and opposition from local authorities. So, in Moldova, law enforcement agencies issued fines for wearing the St. George ribbon in accordance with the law adopted in the republic in April 2022. The document, in particular, states that the tape cannot be used to "justify war crimes."

In Paris, on May 8, provocateurs tried to disrupt the laying of flowers at the Père Lachaise cemetery. As reported by the agency RIA Novosti, people with Ukrainian symbols began to approach the gathering place of the participants of the commemorative action at the beginning, but French law enforcement officers ousted them.

During one of the stops along the way of the procession, provocateurs began to sing the song "Chervona Viburnum", which is considered the anthem of Ukrainian nationalists. After the intervention of the police, the action continued further.

In addition, the media in Germany reported on the incident that occurred in Berlin in the Tiergarten Park at the monument to the Soviet T-34 tank. The publication B.Z. notes that the beginning of the incident was a remark that the policeman made to the children who climbed onto the tank, walking in the park with adults. Later, a man with a Ukrainian flag approached the place, with the appearance of which a dispute began, which escalated into a fight.

Along with this, the Berlin court on the eve overturned the decision of the court of first instance, which allowed the flags of Russia and the USSR to be displayed at the main Soviet war memorials in Berlin on May 9.