Pro-Russian vandalism persists in Portugal

Russians in Lisbon vandalized the area near the Taras Shevchenko monument with the letter Z – a symbol of the Russian army and the symbol of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reported Pavlo Sadokha, UWC Vice-President and President of the Union of Ukrainians in Portugal.

“Russian terrorists continue their shameful activities in Portugal. Once again, the object of their vandalism was the area near the Taras Shevchenko monument in Lisbon. This time, they were afraid to paint their marks on the monument itself, where the Municipality recently installed additional lighting, but they defiled the areas near the monument. The Embassy of Ukraine has already reacted and informed the local authorities about the new vandalism by Putin’s supporters,” wrote Sadokha.

In January, the Taras Shevchenko monument in Lisbon was desecrated with the letter Z for the first time. “It seems that the Russian nationalists have decided to launch a massive attack on our historical and spiritual values,” Sadokha wrote then.

Acts of vandalism supporting Russia are not fragmented incidents. In March, unknown individuals vandalized Ukrainian symbols on the campus of the University of Connecticut in the United States. Last year in December, vandals in Chicago defaced Ukrainian sites with the letter “Z.” Among the damaged locations were the Ukrainian National Museum of Chicago, a Ukrainian church, a veterinary clinic serving the Ukrainian community, and a mural in the Ukrainian Village – a historic Ukrainian district in the city.