Russian Embassy in Poland Scales Down V-Day Celebrations Over Calls for Violence

WARSAW (Sputnik) - The Russian embassy in Poland had to limit the number of people invited to the Victory Day celebrations to senior diplomatic personnel due to widespread calls for violence against the attendees, Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreev told Sputnik on Saturday.

The Russian diplomatic mission planned to hold the Immortal Regiment march and lay wreaths at the Soviet Military Cemetery on Zwirki and Wigury street in Warsaw, but had to reconsider the format amid public outcry.

"When the May 9 event at the cemetery was announced, calls for protests emerged on the internet [against the Victory Day events], including for physical violence on the behalf of various so-called activists," Andreev said.

The ambassador said that the embassy decided scale down the Victory Day celebrations over possible provocations.

The ambassador, his wife and senior Russian diplomats will come to the cemetery and lay wreaths to commemorate the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945.

Earlier this week, the Russian Embassy in Warsaw informed Polish Foreign Ministry of the plans to hold May 9 celebrations in the capital and urged the authorities to ensure public safety during the event. A public backlash followed, with Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski going so far as to say that "the celebration of the aggressor" should be banned altogether.

In turn, Polish Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Marcin Przydacz said on social media that Poland "did not plan to provide support to the embassy of the Russian Federation and will not provide such support," noting that the Warsaw mayor has the final say in the matter of holding the celebration.