Kyiv protests after German police confiscate Ukraine flag at WWII ceremony in Berlin
- Police had imposed a ban on displays of flags or military symbols at 15 memorial sites across Berlin, including the iconic site at the central Tiergarten Park
- They went further with additional measures on Sunday and Monday, saying it was to ensure that a World War II commemoration ceremony stayed peaceful
Kyiv on Sunday condemned Berlin’s “mistake” after German police confiscated a giant Ukrainian flag displayed by demonstrators at the Soviet War Memorial in the German capital.
Police had imposed a ban on displays of flags or military symbols at 15 memorial sites across Berlin, including the iconic site at the central Tiergarten Park and another in Treptower Park.
But they went further with additional measures on Sunday and Monday, saying it was to ensure that a World War II commemoration ceremony stayed peaceful.
“Berlin made a mistake by prohibiting Ukrainian symbols,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted. “It’s deeply false to treat them equally with Russian symbols.
“Taking a Ukrainian flag away from peaceful protesters is an attack on everyone who now defends Europe and Germany from Russian aggression with this flag in hands,” he added.
Germany has already outlawed the display of the “Z” symbol used by the Russian army in its invasion of Ukraine.
Tensions are running high over possible pro-Russian demonstrations on the two highly symbolic days commemorating the defeat of the Nazis and the end of World War II.
Berlin’s decision had sparked strong criticism from the Ukrainian community, including Kyiv’s ambassador to Germany Andrij Melnyk, who called it a “catastrophic politically wrong decision”.