Russian ambassador to Poland attacked with red paint
Warsaw, May 9: Russia's ambassador to Poland was splattered with red paint thrown at him by protesters opposed to the war in Ukraine, preventing him from paying respects on Monday at a Warsaw cemetery to Red Army soldiers who died during World War II.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced the attack, saying on her messaging app channel that we won't be scared while the people of Europe should be scared to see their reflection in a mirror.
Ambassador Sergey Andreev arrived at the Soviet soldiers' cemetery to lay flowers on Victory Day, which marks the defeat of Nazi Germany by the Allies.
The major Russian patriotic holiday was celebrated with pomp in a parade at Red Square in Moscow.
As he arrived at the Soviet Military Cemetery in the Polish capital, Andreev was met by hundreds of activists opposed to Russia's war in Ukraine.
The protesters first snatched away a wreath of flowers that he had intended to lay at the cemetery and trampled it.
Red paint was thrown from behind at him before a protester standing beside him threw a big blob of it in his face.
The protesters carried Ukrainian flags and chanted fascists and murderers" at him, in Russian, while some were dressed in white sheets smeared with red, symbolising the Ukrainian victims of Russia's war.
Other people in his entourage were also seen splattered with what appeared to be red paint.
Zakharova said that admirers of the neo-Nazis have once again shown their face. She said that along with the removal of monuments to Soviet army World War II heroes, the attack reflected the course for the reincarnation of fascism.
Some Russian commentators suggested that the attack on the ambassador could prompt Moscow to recall him and ask the Polish ambassador to leave.
The Polish government faced criticism for not providing the ambassador with more security, allowing for an incident to occur that Russia could use to depict Poland as hostile to Moscow.
Among the critics was a former interior minister, Bartlomiej Sienkiewicz, who said he couldn't understand why there wasn't more protection for the ambassador when for weeks you could feel how May 9 could end in Warsaw.
Poland's current interior minister, however, noted that Poland's government had advised the Russian ambassador against laying flowers at the cemetery, and noted that police allowed him to safely leave the scene.
The gathering of opponents of Russian aggression against Ukraine, where the crime of genocide takes place every day, was legal, Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski added.
The emotions of Ukrainian women taking part in the demonstration, whose husbands are fighting bravely in defense of their homeland, are understandable.
Protesters also marched in Warsaw on Sunday evening to protest the war, bringing a tank on a tractor and parking it in front of the Russian Embassy.
Since the war began on Feb. 24, images of Ukrainian tractors hauling off Russian tanks have been symbols of Ukrainian resistance.
The Soviet cemetery is set amid a vast park on the route linking downtown to the international airport.
It is the final resting place of more than 20,000 Red Army soldiers who perished on Polish soil fighting while helping to defeat Nazi Germany.
While Poland has removed some monuments to the Red Army in the decades since it threw off Moscow-backed communist rule, it has allowed the cemetery to remain undisturbed.
Though Soviet soldiers defeated the Nazis, earlier in the war the Soviet forces had invaded Poland following a secret agreement with the German Nazi government, and carried out atrocities against Poles, including mass executions and deportations to Siberia.
The Russian ambassador to Poland was attacked as he tried to lay a wreath at the Soviet soldiers' cemetery in Warsaw. pic.twitter.com/FFtBzuRITW
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
