A crowd at a Warsaw memorial cemetery on Tuesday, May 9 stopped the Russian ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreev, from laying a wreath, according to reports from TASS.
Officials from the Russian diplomatic mission had come to honor the soldiers who died during Poland’s liberation from fascism. A source described how the surrounding crowd blocked their passage, preventing the wreath ceremony.
Witnesses recalled that, through a loudspeaker, protesters demanded the removal of the George ribbon from the diplomatic delegation’s display.
One eyewitness said the diplomats were pushed back toward their vehicles, and that Andreev and his entourage were forced to depart without completing the tribute.
Later, Andreev stated that no Russian diplomats were injured during the wreath-laying blockade.
According to him, the emplacement saw many protesters and a street lined with Ukrainian flags and crosses as the diplomats arrived with wreaths and flowers. He noted that a crowd blocked the road when the cars stopped to allow the ceremony to begin.
Andreev added that police provided security and did not allow the action to be disrupted by force. He also claimed that no designation of any Russian diplomats as targets existed in the vicinity.
“Everything went smoothly, no injuries occurred,” the ambassador said. He added that a senior police officer reported the Warsaw city authorities were recording the event in the square near the memorial cemetery, which he interpreted as a lack of any official backing for the demonstration.
“There is no reason to support or prevent these actions by the crowd,” Andreev explained.
Recalling a similar incident the previous year, Andreev said that the wreath-laying had to be abandoned again, noting that the ceremony could not proceed as intended. He emphasized that the day remains a holiday for Russia and expressed resolve to continue commemorations with optimism, resisting any disruptive attempts.
Exactly one year earlier, on May 9, 2022, the Russian ambassador to Poland was targeted during Victory Day ceremonies when red liquid was spilled on him while flowers were laid on the graves of Soviet soldiers. He withdrew from the cemetery accompanied by police, having not placed a wreath, according to DEA News.
The Warsaw War Memorial Cemetery on Žwirki and Wigury Street, established in 1950, spans 19.2 hectares. It is the final resting place for about 22,000 Soviet soldiers who died during Poland’s liberation from Nazi occupation, with an inscription in two languages honoring their sacrifice from 1944 to 1945. In total, more than 600,000 Soviet soldiers died on Polish soil during the Great Patriotic War.
Tiergarten memorial in Berlin saw a different scene on May 7, as a confrontation occurred involving a group of children and adults and a tank display, prompting police intervention. An argument arose between a man with a Ukrainian flag and another individual, reportedly over the war in Ukraine, according to Berliner Zeitung. Reports also indicate that Berlin’s administrative court had restricted flags associated with Russia and the Soviet era at the site, while similar restrictions on Ukrainian flags were lifted, as noted by Tagesspiegel.