The word “murder” was spray-painted outside the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Thursday as Russian military forces invaded Ukraine.
The Secret Service said it responded to a report of “an individual defacing the public sidewalk,” and a woman, who has not been identified publicly, was arrested in connection to the message, according to the Hill.
The Secret Service is leading an investigation, the Metropolitan Police Department said.
NOW: “Murder” painted in red paint on the driveway outside of the Russian Embassy. DC and Secret Service Police are now standing watch. Earlier, crowds supporting Ukraine had gathered here protesting the Russian invasion pic.twitter.com/RuASDqt4hD
— Justin Finch (@Justin_NBC) February 24, 2022
WATCH: DEMONSTRATORS GATHER AT RUSSIAN EMBASSIES IN DC AND AROUND THE WORLD
Dozens of Ukrainian protesters gathered outside the Russian Embassy on Thursday morning to protest Russian forces invading Ukraine.
Nadiya Shaporynska, a woman from Dnipro, Ukraine, and one of the organizers of the demonstration, said she felt those in the United States needed to do something to show their support for Ukraine.
“I was in shock, and we were very much afraid,” Shaporynska told the Washington Post. “We came to Russia’s Embassy to show our protest and to say, ‘Hands off Ukraine. Stop the war in Ukraine.’”
Throughout the night and into the morning protesters supporting Ukraine have been outside the Russian embassy on Wisconsin Avenue.
Crews are cleaning up the spot where someone spray painted “murder.” pic.twitter.com/tWRxgX10Ko— Tom Roussey (@tomroussey7news) February 24, 2022
Shaporynksa said the protesters were expected to reconvene outside the White House at 4:30 p.m. and call on President Joe Biden to commit to a stronger response to the invasion.
Biden delivered an address Thursday afternoon, slamming Russia‘s “unprovoked and unjustified” attack on Ukraine and announcing additional sanctions, including locking out Russia and its citizens from global financial systems. The Biden administration has also expelled the second-highest ranked diplomat in Russia’s Washington, D.C., Embassy in retaliation for previously doing the same to the United States’s No. 2 diplomat in Moscow.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops to invade Ukraine on Thursday morning after weeks of military buildup around the Ukrainian border.
