Today, in front of the Russian Embassy in Warsaw, a protest against Russian soldiers stealing stuff from Ukraine took place. It’s inspired by an action made by London citizens, who brought old clothes and electronics in front of the Russian Embassy in London to poke fun at the looters and their “trophies.”
Since the beginning of the war, we’ve been hearing stories about Russian troopers stealing clothes, shoes, cosmetics and electronic devices such as laptops or TV sets from the houses they raided. Ukrainian media have shared intercepted calls where the soldiers inform their close ones about the things they had stolen (available here) and war crimes they have committed. It caused outrage in Western societies.
London residents decided to ridicule those actions and in form of a protest, they brought old toilet seats, damaged electronics and run-down clothes in front of the Russian Embassy on April 8th, 2022. Fascinated and amazed by the action, Wojciech Stanisławski and Natalia Pachenko decided to organize a similar event in Warsaw. They titled it “Bring something trashy to the Embassy!” (Polish: Daj coś z worka dla orka!”).
“Easter, the time of spring cleaning, is approaching in great strides. Let’s bring old toasters, slightly burned pots and jeans with a few holes – everything that makes Russian soldiers, officers and diplomats content,” writes Wojciech Stanisławski on the Facebook page of the event. He accents that it’s not a friendly gesture: he wants the diplomats to know how the Russian army is perceived in Poland.
“If the true motivation behind the aggressors’ rallies and lootings is the chance of getting an old jointer, perhaps the Russian ambassadors will be kind enough to pass them over, therefore decreasing the scale of ravage in Ukraine?”
The event started today (April 13th, 2022) at 5:30 P.M. in front of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Warsaw.