The German police have folded a gigantic Ukrainian flag deployed this Sunday, May 8 in Berlin to denounce the Russian invasion. “An error” denounced by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.
kyiv on Sunday denounced a “mistake” by Germany after German police ordered demonstrators gathered outside the Soviet Memorial in Berlin to fold up a huge Ukrainian flag unfurled in protest against the Russian invasion.
“Berlin made a mistake by banning Ukrainian symbols. It is deeply wrong to treat them on an equal footing with Russian symbols,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba said on Twitter. “It is an attack on all those who are currently defending Europe and Germany against Russian aggression,” he said.
Earlier in the day, German police ordered protesters gathered outside the Soviet Memorial in Berlin to fold up a huge Ukrainian flag, on the eve of commemorations in Russia on May 9, celebrating the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.
“A slap in the face to Ukraine”
“To keep the peaceful and dignified commemoration in the foreground, our colleagues ensured that a Ukrainian flag approximately 25 meters long was rolled up” after being unfurled, Berlin police tweeted.
Fearing scuffles, in particular from pro-Russian activists, the Berlin police announced on Friday the ban on displaying flags or military symbols on about fifteen sites in the German capital during the commemorations of the end of the Second World War, which are due to continue on Monday.
This decision caused an outcry, especially in the Ukrainian community. Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Andrij Melnyk, called the move “scandalous” and “a slap in the face to Ukraine”.
Renowned for not mincing his words towards the German leaders, the diplomat laid a wreath of flowers in the blue and yellow colors of his country in the morning in front of the Soviet Memorial, in the heart of Berlin.
About 1,600 police in Berlin this Sunday
Despite a heavy police presence, protesters chanting “Melnyk out!” gathered near the Memorial, while others, pro-Ukrainians, shouted “Slava Ukraini” (“Glory to Ukraine” in Ukrainian).
This monument, located on the edge of the Tiergarten park, not far from the Brandenburg Gate, celebrates the memory of the 80,000 Soviet soldiers killed during the Battle of Berlin before the capitulation of Nazi Germany on May 8, 1945. It is notably flanked two tanks, while a bronze statue of a triumphant Red Army soldier stands on a marble base.
Some 1,600 police officers were deployed in the German capital on Sunday to prevent possible incidents, while there will be 1,800 on Monday when Moscow will hold the May 9 military parade, which marks the victory of the Soviet Union over the Nazi Germany in World War II.