Unknown assailants on Wednesday threw red paint at the Polish embassy in Moscow as Russia demanded a formal apology from Warsaw over what it said was an “egregious” attack on its envoy.
On Monday, the Russian ambassador to Poland was splattered with a red substance by pro-Ukraine activists in Warsaw when he tried to lay a wreath to mark Victory Day. This year’s events took place as Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine enters its third month.
TIT FOR TAT
On Wednesday, the Russian foreign ministry summoned Poland’s ambassador Krzysztof Krajewski over the “egregious” attack and demanded an “official apology” from the country’s leadership.
“A decision on further steps will be made depending on Warsaw’s reaction to our demands,”
the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.
The same day, red paint was thrown at the building housing the Polish embassy in Moscow.
“Mr Ambassador Krzysztof Krajewski confirmed that such an incident occurred,”
Poland’s foreign ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina told Polish news agency PAP. He added that the ambassador was waiting for the police to arrive.
RUSSIA TO CLARIFY THE ‘RED PAINT’ MATTER
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz told reporters in Washington that if paint was indeed thrown at the Polish embassy then Poland expected Russia to clarify the matter and find the perpetrators.
Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau on Monday called the spraying of the Russian ambassador with a red substance an incident that should not have happened.
Poland has accepted hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighbouring Ukraine since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into the pro-Western country on 24 February.
© Agence France-Presse