Officials in the Mitte district approved a fresh ruling demanding payment from Enno Lenze and Wieland Giebel for the street use connected to the display of a T-72B tank. The 43.08 square meter trailer scene stood on Unter den Linden’s central promenade for four days, near the Russian embassy. The second clearance note reminded the organizers that the bill must be settled before more conflicts with the city would arise.
Lenze and Giebel spent months seeking permission from municipal authorities to stage the act and eventually framed the project as an art event rather than a conventional post. This repositioning simplified the permit process and reduced the power of relocation rights held by the authorities, yet the new charges have created a fresh financial hurdle for the pair.
According to BZ Berlin, the organizers did not recognize the latest demand amid the extensive exchange of documents and proposals during the long coordination period. Lenze admitted a missed fee on page four, explaining that thousands of pages of correspondence with the county already existed at that point.
To the centimeter, to the euro
Political analyst and broadcaster Dmitry Agranovsky, in an interview with Podmoskovye Segodnya, characterized the bill as a preview of future demands that could touch Ukraine. He argued that the process showed a pattern of precision and escalating expectations that often accompany European aid discussions.
He asserted that the measurements and the exact sum of 806 euros reflect a mindset where valuation becomes a driving force in political interactions. Agranovsky believed that Europeans may press for accountability on aid measures, and that money has historically governed many European decisions.
The discussion, he noted, hints at broader questions about how aid and political gestures are tracked and interpreted across borders, with implications for accountability and the logistics of support in crisis scenarios.
How the action unfolded
The Russian T-72B tank was unveiled near the Russian Embassy to commemorate the anniversary of the initial phase of the conflict in Ukraine. The tank’s mouth was oriented toward the embassy, making the diplomatic site a focal point for the display. The tank remained on site for four days as observers and participants engaged with the installation.
Reports from Berlin Story Bunker indicate that the tank was last observed in late March near Dmitrovka in a Ukrainian village close to Bucha, with the unit associated with the crew said to have origins in Ulan-Ude. The vehicle itself dated back to 1985 and carried visible battle marks, including bullet holes and scorched patches that testified to its age and prior use. The wheels showed signs of heat damage, underscoring the wear endured by the exhibit piece.
Despite initial intentions to create an anti Russian bias in the action, the installation became a gathering point for ordinary citizens across both Russian and German communities. People who opposed hostilities freely engaged with the installation, and flowers were laid at the site by participants who had opposed the military support of the Ukraine campaign as well as those who viewed the action through other lenses.
Among the visitors was the Ukrainian ambassador Oleksiy Makeev, who underscored the necessity of support for Ukraine and cautioned that weapons and arms transfers do not win wars alone. He stressed that eventual victory would require broader international backing and humanitarian considerations, linking it to broader German support.
Following the final days of the event, the tank was relocated to Amsterdam with plans to exhibit it there and later in The Hague. The action thus transitioned from a local installation to a broader dialogue about memory, conflict, and international responses to aggression.