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Activists park burnt-out tank outside Russian Embassy in Berlin

Anti-war activists on Friday parked a bombed-out Russian tank in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin, as thousands of protesters across Europe prepared to march against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian tank outside Russian embassy
The wreck of a Russian tank destroyed near Kyiv, brought outside the Russian Embassy in Berlin. Photo courtesy of Enno Lenze

Enno Lenze and Wieland Giebel, who operate the Berlin Story Museum, said they had stationed the tank wreck by Russia’s imposing embassy off the Brandenburg Gate ‘as a symbol of Russia’s downfall’.

“We want to put their scrap metal in front of the gates of the terrorists,” said Giebel, who for months was caught in a bureaucratic tangle with Berlin authorities over the tank installation, after Lenze had the idea to bring it to Berlin after finding it at the side of the road near Kyiv.

The tank was damaged on March 31st last year near Bucha, the town near Kyiv which has become a byword for alleged Russian war crimes.

Sabine Ertl, a tourist on holiday in Berlin, said the tank was both “impressive and scary”.

“It brings this reality much closer,” she told AFP.

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev was also on hand at the tank protest to thank Lenze and Giebel.

“Don’t panic,” he tweeted. “The Russian T-72 tank previously sighted in Berlin has already been destroyed by Ukrainian forces so this death machine could no longer pose a threat to the people of Europe.”

Admiring the protest action, one Twitter user quipped that the tank had been “returned to sender” after a failed delivery to Ukraine. “This Russian tank was refused acceptance in Ukraine and returned to the Russian Embassy in Berlin,” he wrote.

The demonstration not only drew the attention of passers by – a group of Ukrainian children also came to sing next to the destroyed military vehicle. 

Zelensky to speak to Ukraine’s supporters in Germany

At an event led by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier who underlined that Kyiv could count on Berlin, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky beamed in a message thanking Western allies for their support for his country.

Zelensky was also due to address demonstrators in Berlin later Friday via video-link. Massive pro-Ukraine demonstrations are scheduled to happen all over Germany late Friday afternoon.

READ ALSO: INTERVIEW: Germany must show ‘leadership and vision’ for Ukraine

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POLITICS

Yulia Navalnaya votes at Russian embassy in Berlin

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was queuing to cast her ballot at the Russian embassy in Berlin on Sunday, an AFP journalist witnessed.

Yulia Navalnaya votes at Russian embassy in Berlin

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was queueing to cast her ballot at the Russian embassy in Berlin on Sunday, an AFP journalist witnessed.

Wearing a black jacket, Navalnaya received flowers from supporters and chatted with fellow voters in the long queue outside the embassy in the German capital.

Navalnaya had called on Russians to stage an election day protest against President Vladimir Putin by forming long queues outside voting stations.

‘Among voters who joined the snaking line in Berlin was Maria Katkova, 33, who told AFP that she was there “because I don’t want my vote to be stolen”.

“I want to be together with all these people here and feel like I’m not alone,” said Katkova, who had been in the queue for two hours.

Stanislav Vliasov, 33, a risk manager, said that he had come to vote because “it’s a good possibility to show a picture to all people around the world, to people in Russia… that people are against this situation… against the politics in Russia.

“People know there is a lot to do after today, the world has a lot to do to fight Putin’s regime,” he added.

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