Irish man crashes truck through Russian Embassy gates as protests target Moscow’s diplomats around the world

Over the weekend, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “hoodlums have attacked Russian diplomatic missions in Canada, Estonia, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden.” The ministry told the RIA News Agency that a diplomat was attacked near the embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania. And protesters have reportedly thrown paint and graffitied Russian missions in Israel, the United States and other places.

The ministry said Tuesday that it had summoned Ireland’s ambassador to Russia, Brian McElduff, to discuss the car-ramming incident in Dublin, which it called “a tactic widely used by terrorists,” and demanded an apology and compensation from Irish authorities, according to the state-owned news agency TASS.

A video of the incident in Dublin shared by Irish broadcaster RTÉ News shows a large truck reversing into the gates of the Russian embassy, as some onlookers cheer. Other videos posted on social media show the driver, who identifies himself as Desmond Wisley, handing out photographs of what he describes as victims of Russian forces in Ukraine, including a woman and two children, and saying: “I done it for her.”

The Irish police said they are “investigating an incident of criminal damage that occurred at a property on Orwell Road” on March 7 and have taken into custody a man, who will face charges at a Tuesday hearing.

The Russian Embassy in a statement said Irish police officers “stood idle” during the incident, and accused Ireland of violating the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic relations, which says that nations have a “special duty” to protect foreign diplomatic missions “against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the mission or impairment of its dignity.”

A spokeswoman for the Irish police said in an email to The Washington Post that it “does not comment on statements or remarks made by 3rd parties”

Protests against Russian invasion of Ukraine fill streets around the globe

In another statement posted on social media shortly after the first, the Russian embassy softened its earlier criticism of the police response. It said “additional measures have been undertaken by the Garda to ensure safety and security of the embassy and its personnel,” and thanked Irish authorities for their “cooperation.”

In many Western countries, protests in support of Ukraine have been held outside Russian missions, with few major incidents reported.

On Feb. 28, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Canada’s ambassador to Russia, Alison LeClair, to complain about what it said were “hostile demonstrations by aggressive elements in front of the Russian embassy in Ottawa and also Russia’s consulates-general in Montreal and Toronto,” according to TASS.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that its diplomatic missions have been attacked in seven countries, though it did not provide details about the alleged incidents. On Monday, the Russian Embassy in France said a Russian cultural center in Paris that is under diplomatic protection was attacked with an flammable object. Paris police confirmed the incident to local newspaper Le Parisien and said liquid and shards of glass were found on the ground, while a trash can was also set on fire close by.

In videos and photos, a timeline of Russia’s war on Ukraine

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry told RIA news agency that one of its diplomats in Lithuania “was attacked with the use of physical force.”

According to Reuters, Lithuania’s national broadcaster reported that a third secretary of the Russian embassy was beaten on Feb. 24, the day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, although it did not provide a motive. The broadcaster cited the Lithuanian police, Reuters said, and reported that a suspect was arrested. The Vilnius police could not immediately be reached for comment.