Polish NGOs stage mock vote on annexing Russian embassy

Polish NGOs stage mock vote on annexing Russian embassy

People hold Ukraine's national flags and placards during a demonstration, as they line up to cast ballots in a mock referendum about on whether Poland should annex Russia's embassy in Warsaw
People hold Ukraine's national flags and placards during a demonstration, as they line up to cast ballots in a mock referendum about on whether Poland should annex Russia's embassy in Warsaw. Photo: Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP
Source: AFP

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Hundreds of people turned out Saturday to take part in a mock referendum on whether Poland should annex Russia's embassy in Warsaw, part of a protest organised by several campaigning groups.

"Annexations are in this season," the organisers said in a statement, referring to Moscow's recent claim to have annexed four Ukrainian regions following referendums dismissed as a "sham" by the West.

"We decided to go down that road and organise a referendum on the annexation of the Russian embassy... in Warsaw."

The NGOS also referred to a viral social media joke proposing that Czechs seize the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

Brandishing the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag and placards notably reading "Terrorussia" and "Hands off Ukraine", some 3,000 people, according to organisers, attended the mock referendum in Warsaw.

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The queue to cast a vote extended down the street housing the palatial Russian embassy, in front of which the ballot box had been placed.

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The ballot asked whether Poland should annex the Russian embassy and provided three voting options -- all of them "Yes".

"This is a much more democratic idea than those referendums on Ukrainian territory that were held under guns and missiles," Mariia Volkolup, a 33-year-old Ukrainian lawyer in Warsaw, told AFP.

People hold a giant banner made of Poland and Ukraine's flags while attending a mock referendum on whether Warsaw should annex Russia's embassy
People hold a giant banner made of Poland and Ukraine's flags while attending a mock referendum on whether Warsaw should annex Russia's embassy. Photo: Wojtek RADWANSKI / AFP
Source: AFP

The rally organisers proposed alternative uses for the embassy building, including refugee accommodation, a cultural centre, a zoo and even public toilets.

Grigorij, 46, a Russian who left Moscow in August, said he attended the rally to show his support for Ukraine.

"I condemn this war waged by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, and I want to say that not all Russians support it," he told AFP. He said he had moved to Warsaw because he felt complicit in the war by remaining in Russia.

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The event organisers said they would send an open letter to Poland's leaders calling on them to expel the Russian ambassador.

The event was organised by a loose alliance of groups supporting women, Ukraine, democracy and human rights.

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Source: AFP

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