On Saturday, Ukrainian and Polish activists prepared an unpleasant surprise for Russian diplomats working in Poland. On Ukraine’s National Flag Day, they poured yellow and blue paint along the street in front of the Russian Embassy in Warsaw, symbolising the national colours of Ukraine.
‘Yesterday, Russia celebrated its National Flag Day. However we will not allow representatives of this criminal regime to enjoy the sight of colours associated with oppression, dictatorship and genocide. When they look out of their windows today, all they will see are the colours of resistance and freedom – a reminder of their own barbarism,’ emphasised Marcin Mycielski from the Open Dialogue Foundation, the organiser of the protest.
Representatives of the Open Dialogue Foundation, the Committee for the Defence of Democracy, Euromaidan Warsaw, the All-Poland Women’s Strike, Action Democracy and Lotna Brygada Opozycji (The Flying Brigade of the Opposition, LBO), all took part in the action. The protest was held on Saturday morning on Belwederska Street in Warsaw, outside the building of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Poland.
They came to the Russian Embassy to hit out at Putin
The activists poured blue and yellow paint, the colours of Ukraine, over a long stretch of the road. In this way, they celebrated Ukraine’s National Flag Day, which falls on 23 August. Polish activists also joined the event which, as the organisers stressed, was a clear gesture of solidarity from Polish men and women with the Ukrainian people in their struggle against the Russian occupier.
‘The colours of resistance will remind them of their barbarism’
The main organiser of the action was Marcin Mycielski from the Open Dialogue Foundation. ‘Yesterday, Russia celebrated its National Flag Day. However we will not allow representatives of this criminal regime to enjoy the sight of colours associated with oppression, dictatorship and genocide. When they look out of their windows today, all they will see are the colours of resistance and freedom – a reminder of their own barbarism. Yellow is the symbol of the fields they have burned. Blue stands for the sky they use to murder civilians with drones,’ he explained.
He stressed that ‘more than three years after the start of the full-scale aggression, we show that Poles still stand, and will always stand, shoulder to shoulder with the proud Ukrainian nation, which is being tormented by Putin.’
The activists emphasised that they were inspired by a happening staged by the British group Led By Donkeys, which organised a similar action in London in February 2023.
They also appealed to Warsaw’s drivers for help in ‘stretching the flag even further’, assuring them that car tyres would be washed free of the toxic, water-based paint. The idea originated with entrepreneur Grzegorz Bielowicki, who also financed the action, while the transport of the special, non-toxic paint from the United Kingdom was facilitated by UPS.
Police Comment
On Sunday, the Warsaw police commented on the events in front of the Russian embassy in Warsaw via social media. ‘During the intervention, officers carried out all necessary procedures, including examining the paint poured on the street and checking the identities of those present. They also prepared documentation forming the basis for submitting 14 motions to the court for punishment under Articles 63a, 97, and 52(2)(2) of the Code of Petty Offences,’ they wrote on X.
They added that one of the individuals identified will be charged with leading an unregistered assembly. ‘A municipal cleaning service was called to the site of the intervention; once its work was completed, an invoice for the service was issued, which will be attached to the case file,’ the police reported.
Source: rmf24.pl
In other media:
