More than a hundred guests gathered in the hall of the embassy in Washington, including military attachés from other countries. At the same time, an anti-Russian protest was going on in front of the gate.
On February 23, the Russian embassy in Washington hosted a lavish banquet in honor of Russia’s “Defender of the Fatherland Day” against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. He was visited by a correspondent for Foreign Policy magazine.
More than a hundred diplomats from various countries, at the invitation of Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov, gathered in the embassy’s grand ballroom, decorated with six chandeliers and floor-to-ceiling peach-colored satin drapes. The guests drank vodka and wine, and ate puff pastries with caviar, pickles and eggplant rolls with Georgian-style filling, which the waiters served on silver plates. Photos and “evidence of the crimes of Ukrainian Nazis in the Donbas” were posted in front of the entrance to the hall, allegedly provided by witnesses among civilians.
During the feast, Ambassador Anatoly Antonov made a toast in which he complained about the violation of the principles of international relations defined by the UN Charter. In his speech, he stated that Russia would solve problems peacefully, and at the end he offered to drink for the Russian army. At the end of his speech, the anthem of the Russian Federation began to play in the hall.
As Foreign Policy notes, many of those invited were military attaches from other embassies, mostly from South and East Asia and Africa. On the same day, 39 countries either abstained or voted against a UN resolution calling for Russian troops to leave Ukraine, while 141 countries supported it.
Diplomats were celebrating a Russian holiday as a protest took place in front of the building to mark the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The protesters wrapped themselves in Ukrainian flags and chanted “Shame on Russia” at the gates, and every guest saw them when they entered the embassy.
The day before, they wrote that on February 24, activists in Warsaw woke up Russian diplomats on the occasion of the anniversary of the invasion. A group of Ukrainians and Poles set off explosions and turned on the siren around 6:00 am to remind them of the war.
They also wrote that President Vladimir Putin did not say anything about the anniversary of the invasion of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine. According to the Institute for the Study of War, the Russian leadership does not want to once again draw attention to military failures.
