A truck driver in Ireland was arrested Monday after he drove his truck through the gates of the Russian Embassy in Dublin.
The driver, identified as Desmond Wisley, claimed he crashed through the gates “to create a safe corridor for the Russian ambassador to leave Ireland.” Wisley drove his truck as protesters were standing outside the embassy, some of whom shouted, “Bravo” and “Well done,” according to the Irish Times, which said the driver was arrested on charges of criminal damage.
“I’ve done my bit, lads,” Wisley said as police led him away. “It’s about time the rest of Ireland done their bit.”
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The Russian Embassy released a statement that thanked Irish authorities for their cooperation in the implementation of additional measures “to ensure safety and security of the embassy and its personnel.” A previous statement from the embassy accused the government of violating international law, claiming Irish police “stood idle” and calling the incident “cause of extreme concern.”
An update by the Embassy on the truck incident pic.twitter.com/IzI8JHyvyx
— Russia in Ireland (@Rus_Emb_Ireland) March 7, 2022
One of the protesters outside the embassy when the crash occurred, Lukasz Ryz, said Wisley “made sure everyone was out of the way” before driving through the gate. Another protester, Katherine Condren, said she was “shocked how quick [the gate] went down.”
Protests outside the embassy have been held since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. Other protests outside Russian embassies around the world, including in Washington, D.C., the Czech Republic, and Israel, have also been held over the past couple of weeks. Demonstrators on Sunday unofficially renamed the street where D.C.’s Russian Embassy is located to “President Zelensky Way” after Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine.
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Russia on Monday provided a list of demands to Ukraine that it claims the country must fulfill if it wants to end the war. The demands include Ukraine ceasing all military actions, changing its constitution to ensure neutrality, acknowledging Crimea as Russian territory, and recognizing two separatist territories in the Donbas region as independent territories.
