Protesters dump dung at Russian ambassador’s home in Poland on Ukraine war anniversary

By Kacper Pempel

WARSAW (Reuters) -A pile of dung was dumped outside the home of Moscow’s ambassador to Poland on Saturday as protesters marked the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Hundreds of people also gathered outside the Russian embassy in Warsaw.

Poland has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine’s fight to repel the Russian invasion, a position which continues despite recent rows with Kyiv over agricultural imports and regulations for truckers.

Protesters at the Russian embassy waved Ukrainian and Polish flags alongside banners with slogans including, “Russians burn in hell”.

“I want all people who are abroad to go to the embassies of the Russian Federation and remind all the world that we still have a war in Ukraine,” said Maryna Sytnychenko, a 41-year-old finance manager who came to Poland in March 2022 after the invasion.

Earlier, activists dumped dung outside the Russian ambassador’s house in the town of Konstancin-Jeziorna, near Warsaw.

They put a bloodied Russian flag with the letter “Z” on the pile of manure and stuck a sign into it that said “Russia = shit! We don’t want you in EU! Get out!”, pictures of the protest seen by Reuters showed.

At daybreak protesters played the sound of sirens, gunfire and explosions outside a building in the city housing Russian diplomats.

“We wanted a clear signal to the Polish authorities and the European Union. It’s high time to expel Russian diplomats from our country,” said Dominik, a protestor quoted in a statement.

The Russian embassy in Warsaw did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

In contrast to other Baltic states which have expelled Russian ambassadors, Poland has so far not taken such a step although it has removed diplomats.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine started the deadliest war on European soil in more than 70 years.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish, Kacper Pempel and Kuba Stezycki; Editing by Clelia Oziel and Mike Harrison)