Masked protesters rioted outside the Russian Embassy in Kyiv on June 14 in reaction to the downing of a military plane in Luhansk that killed 49 Ukrainian soldiers. No embassy personnel were visible within the compound.
The protesters, some wielding crowbars, smashed and overturned cars parked outside the building and threw stones, eggs and green paint at its windows. The Russian tricolor flag was taken down and replaced with a blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag.
Ukraine’s acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Deshchytsia visited the scene to make an appeal for peace. “We should not cut diplomatic ties. We’re bound to protect Ukrainians residing in Russia,” he said. He left after about 15 minutes.
Glass from car windshields was strewn across the street and the air was filled with the smell of petrol. Fire services contained a small fire that broke out within the embassy grounds before hosing down the vandalized cars. The hose pipe burst twice in the process, prompting jeers from the crowd.
“We’ve had enough of Ukrainians dying at Russian hands. We want to remind Russians that this is not their place,” said 28-year-old Evgeniy, who was wearing a mask and was using a crowbar to break the doors of one of the parked cars. He declined to reveal any group affiliation. One of the protesters said “we are activists fighting for our country.”
The scene outside the Russian Embassy in Kyiv as firefighters hose down cars overturned by protesters.
Members of the Maidan self-defense group were actively trying to restore order and hold back the protesters. Several scuffles broke out among the crowd.
“There are peaceful ways of protesting, like calling for Ukraine to dismiss Russian diplomatic envoys stationed here. Storming the embassy is not the right way. If we break into this territory we are breaking into the territory of Russia,” said Igor Ignatenko, a member of Maidan self-defense.
He said the protesters were members of a movement called “Gianta,” which had planned a peaceful protest in the city center that day. Following news of the deadly incident in Lugansk they turned their attention to the Russian embassy, he added.
The self-defense group was accompanied by Ivan Vladyka, a priest of the Kyiv Patriarchate who was actively confronting the protesters.
“We came as part of a large group from Maidan. We heard that unknown people were attacking the embassy and we came immediately to calm the situation,” he said.
