A crowd of pro-Ukrainian protesters swarmed a car entering the Russian Embassy to Ireland on Friday, with some alleging that the vehicle contained the ambassador.
Demonstrators chanted against letting the car into the facility, before the car’s windshield was covered with a Ukrainian flag.
After the driver of the vehicle accelerated, sounds of collisions and strikes against the car rang out.
Irish academic Dr. Cara Augustenborg filmed the chaotic scene on Friday morning.
Tensions high as @EmbassyofRussia tries to enter residence during #Ukraine #UkraineRussia #UkraineInvasion protest pic.twitter.com/BwAmscx6Ge
— Dr. Cara Augustenborg (@CAugustenborg) February 25, 2022
Police on hand did little to separate protestors from the car.
A sizable crowd of Ukraine supporters chanted “Putin is a liar” at the demonstration.
Outside @EmbassyofRussia #Dublin now, where crowd shouts “Putin is a liar” & “Go away from Ukraine” #UkraineRussia #UkraineInvasion pic.twitter.com/46BeOAJryc
— Dr. Cara Augustenborg (@CAugustenborg) February 25, 2022
Members of the local Ukrainian community expressed their anger at Russia’s invasion of their home country in interviews at the scene of the protest.
“I couldn’t help my parents in Ukraine. My heart is broken.”
Members of Ukrainian community in Ireland have gathered at the Russian Embassy in Dublin to protest the military invasion of their country. #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/OYkIBNcvkK
— Joseph Okoh (@JoeOkoh_) February 25, 2022
Some protesters called for western governments to implement a no-fly zone over Ukrainian airspace, a move that would escalate tensions between NATO countries and Russia to levels unseen in decades.
This breaks my heart. @Rus_Emb_Ireland #Ukraine Protest #UkraineInvasion #UkraineRussia pic.twitter.com/uTVO8WzOeJ
— Dr. Cara Augustenborg (@CAugustenborg) February 25, 2022
Russia has claimed that Ukraine’s aspirations toward NATO membership justify its aggressive actions.
The country’s leaders support integrating with the European Union as well as the western alliance, a development that Putin finds unacceptable for the former Soviet republic.
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A state symbol of Russia was vandalized with blood-red paint earlier this week at the country’s Irish Embassy.
Protests have emerged at embassies and consulates of Russia throughout Europe and the world, with international public opinion roundly against the country’s aggression toward Ukraine.
The west is slated to slap Russia with wide-ranging economic sanctions that could devastate the nation’s economy.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.