Ukrainian Protesters Tear Down Russian Embassy Flag in Kiev, Moscow Condemns Police Inaction
About 300 protesters tore down the Russian embassy flag in Kiev on Saturday in the wake of the downing by pro-Kremlin rebels of a military transport plane that killed 49 troops.
The angry crowd -- some of them chanting "Fascists!" -- overturned several cars and pelted the embassy with eggs while a dozen city police officers looked on without interfering, an Agence France Presse correspondent said.
Russia condemned Ukrainian police inaction during the violent protest outside its embassy in Kiev.
The Russian foreign ministry called the lack of a police response "a grave violation of Ukraine's international obligations," demanding that Kiev take steps to ensure its diplomats' security.
The United States also condemned the attack and called on Ukraine to provide adequate security for the diplomatic mission.
"The United States condemns the attack on the Russian Embassy in Kiev, and calls on Ukrainian authorities to meet their Vienna convention obligations to provide adequate security," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, called Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and expressed condolences for the 49 troops killed Saturday when pro-Russian rebels shot down the Il-76 transport plane near the airport that serves the city of Lugansk, a senior State Department official said.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Kerry underscored to Yatsenyuk "the commitment of the United States and G7 partners to raise the costs for Russia if it does not end the flow of weapons across the border and break with separatists."
Kerry also called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, voicing the United States' "strong concern" about the transport of heavy weapons and militants across the Russian border into eastern Ukraine, and the downing of the transport plane.
"He pressed Foreign Minister Lavrov to make clear Russia's commitment to deescalation and peace by ending the flow of weapons and support to separatists, and actively working with Ukraine for a ceasefire, amnesty, and political dialogue," the official said.
Source: Agence France Presse
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