London Only hours before the one-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, protesters painted a huge Ukrainian flag on the road in front of the Russian embassy in London on Thursday. In order to imitate the Ukrainian flag, the activists painted the busy street in Kensington, west London, with a mixture of yellow and blue paint.
“Led By Donkeys,” a British political campaign organization, took credit for the prank. The group stated this in a statement: “The imperialist invasion of Ukraine by Putin, a sovereign nation with the right to self-determination, will mark its first anniversary tomorrow. He will be reminded of this by the presence of a sizable Ukrainian flag outside his embassy in London.”
The group said it had applied almost 40 gallons of washable paint on the road and that passing traffic had actually helped with the job, as car tires spread the colors in both directions.
London’s Metropolitan Police said four people were detained on suspicion of criminal damage and obstructing the highway Thursday morning in relation to the protest.
But the stunt brought joy to Abdul Malek, a Chechen demonstrator who has staged regular protests outside the embassy.
He said he felt “happy” to see Ukraine’s national colors spread out in front of the Russian embassy when he arrived to take up his protest vigil Tuesday morning.
