Exhibition of wrecks of Russian tanks that was a hit in Prague: Berlin rejected it
The tanks, which the Ukrainians disabled during the invasion of the Russian troops into Ukraine, were planned to be exhibited on Unter den Linden by the owner of a private museum dedicated to modern German history. They wanted people to be able to visualize the symbols of the Russian war of aggression after Warsaw and Prague. At the end of July, he submitted an application to the Berlin-Mitte district office. But the officials rejected it, saying that people probably died in the tank they wanted to put in front of the Russian embassy, and it is therefore not appropriate to display it. In addition, exhibiting equipment destroyed in the ongoing war affects Germany’s foreign policy interests, the authority said.
“Sure, when Putin learns that there are tanks in the streets of Berlin, he marches immediately through Poland to Berlin,” remarked ironically Wieland Giebel, who is one of the initiators of the exhibition. He added in the Berliner Zeitung that only “by the physical presence of these machines is it possible to see what violence these huge monsters can cause”.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany Andry Melnyk in an interview with Tagesspiegel on Thursday called the reasoning of the Berlin authorities “inferior”.
“Destroyed Russian military equipment, which would be displayed in the heart of Berlin, should convey to the people of Germany up close how brutal and destructive war is,” said the ambassador, who has openly criticized German officials in the past for their approach to Russian aggression against Ukraine. However, Melnyk will end his post soon, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed him some time ago.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyi’s chief of staff, called on Olaf Scholz to supply more modern weapons. Specifically, it is asking for long-range artillery, multiple rocket launchers, drones, air defense systems and armored vehicles. Scholz was repeatedly accused of blocking the supply of weapons to Ukraine.
One worker of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant was injured when the Russian army shelled the site with rockets on Saturday evening. The Ukrainian state nuclear company Enerhoatom informed about it today. According to the Ukrainska pravda newspaper, it happened during the shelling of the city of Enerhodar, on the outskirts of which the largest nuclear power plant in Europe is located.
Enerhoatom said on the Telegram communication platform that the attack hit a warehouse where 174 containers of spent nuclear fuel are stored.
The authorities in Berlin do not want Russian military equipment, which was neutralized by the Ukrainian army, to be displayed in front of Russia. The attitude of the Berlin authorities is criticized by the Ukrainian ambassador in Germany. This exhibition ended a few days ago in Prague, where it was extended due to great public interest.
The tanks, which the Ukrainians disabled during the invasion of the Russian troops into Ukraine, were planned to be exhibited on Unter den Linden by the owner of a private museum dedicated to modern German history. They wanted people to be able to visualize the symbols of the Russian war of aggression after Warsaw and Prague. At the end of July, he submitted an application to the Berlin-Mitte district office. But the officials rejected it, saying that people probably died in the tank they wanted to put in front of the Russian embassy, and it is therefore not appropriate to display it. In addition, exhibiting equipment destroyed in the ongoing war affects Germany’s foreign policy interests, the authority said.
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