As hundreds of people gathered outside the Russian consulate building on Melville Terrace to mark two years since Russia invaded Ukraine, onlookers watched as two unidentified individuals emerged from a black van and tore down all tributes.
The street outside the embassy had been decorated with Ukrainian flags, flowers and signs condemning the Russian invasion before the van appeared.
The van in question had black out windows and diplomatic number plates leading some to believe that the two individuals were acting on behalf of the embassy.
When asked why they had decided to remove the signs, the pair claimed to not speak English but a Russian speaker then redirected the question in Russian and was still denied an explanation.
The Russian consulate has been closed for the majority of the two years since the conflict first began in February 2022 yet onlookers described seeing the front door being opened whilst the protest was ensuing.
Some claim people inside the embassy watched the events unfold but didn’t act.
At one point, one of the individuals appeared to attempt to shove a woman in the crowd who is believed to be Ukrainian but another protester stepped in the way.
Peaceful protests around Edinburgh to commemorate victims of the conflict had been in progress the whole weekend, beginning with a special service at Edinburgh Castle where leaders and Ukrainian refugees amongst hundreds of others gathered together in solidarity.
“Berlin protests against Ukraine War” by lewinb is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.