Topline
A man has died after crashing his car into the gate of Russia’s embassy in Romania on Wednesday, according to local police and news reports, the latest in a series of incidents at Russian missions across Europe as a growing number of countries expel Russian diplomats over Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Romanian serviceman guards in a street next to the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, Romania after a car … [+]
Key Facts
Police in Bucharest said the car drove into the gates of the embassy early Wednesday morning but did not breach the compound, according to multiple news reports.
Video footage taken by witnesses showed the car on fire before firefighters arrived and police said the driver died at the scene.
It is not clear whether the crash was an accident or deliberate and police have not yet released details on the driver’s identity.
In a statement, the Russian mission said no embassy staff or Romanian law enforcement were injured in the incident and offered its condolences to the driver’s family.
Whatever the motive, the embassy said there was “no doubt” the act was committed “under the influence of an explosion of anti-Russian hysteria in connection with a staged provocation in the city of Bucha,” according to a translation by the Associated Press.
Moscow has repeatedly dismissed global outrage and condemnation this week amid numerous accusations of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity after its forces withdrew from the Kyiv region and left signs of executed and tortured civilians lining the streets, which its officials insist are fake without further explanation.
Key Background
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, demonstrators have gathered at Russian missions around the world to protest the war. Protesters egged Russia’s London embassy, a priest threw paint at its Dublin embassy and several—including Lisbon and London—were illuminated with the colors of Ukraine’s flag. Countries and cities are also protesting Russia’s invasion in their own way, with some cities changing street names of Russian embassy locations to things like “Free Ukraine Street” (in Tirana, Albania) and “Ukraine Independence Street” (in Riga, Latvia). A truck driver was arrested in Ireland after deliberately reversing through the gates of Russia’s Dublin embassy.
Tangent
A string of European countries—including Romania, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Sweden and Denmark—have ordered Russian diplomats to leave in the wake of alleged war crimes in Bucha. Foreign ministries say the expulsions are part of concerted European action against Moscow in response to the alleged atrocities its forces are committing in Ukraine.
Big Number
655,000. That’s roughly how many refugees fleeing the war have crossed into Romania from Ukraine, according to U.N. data, the second largest of any country. Some 80,000 have remained in Romania, according to Reuters. Nearly 4.3 million people have fled Ukraine, including2.5 million people who have crossed into Poland.
Further Reading
‘Free Ukraine Street’: Russian Embassies Get Pointed New Addresses (NYT)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2022/04/06/car-crashes-into-gates-of-russian-embassy-in-romania/