Romania

Man dies crashing car into Russian embassy in Romanian capital

cde.news desk 6 April 2022, 08:00 · 1 min read

epa09162356 A Romanian gendarm guards the Russian embassy entrance in Bucharest, Romania, 26 April 2021. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced that an official from the Russian Embassy in Bucharest was expelled from Romania. Alexey Grishaev, deputy military attaché at the Embassy of the Russian Federation, was declared on 26 April persona non grata in Romania, on the grounds that his activities violate the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. EPA-EFE/ROBERT GHEMENT

BUCHAREST, April 6 (Reuters) – A driver died ramming his car into the gate of the Russian embassy in Bucharest early on Wednesday, police in the Romanian capital said in a statement.

A video recorded before firefighters arrived showed the front of the car in flames as it remained wedged in the gate.

It was unclear whether the crash was an accident or deliberate.

During recent weeks, several Russian embassies elsewhere in Europe have been targeted by protesters angered by the invasion of Ukraine.

Police said they were investigating and did not release the identity of the driver.

Romania said on Tuesday it would expel 10 Russian diplomats who are not acting in accordance with international rules, joining other European countries to have done so in recent days.

Nearly 624,860 Ukrainians have fled to Romania since Russia invaded their country on Feb. 24, and around 80,000 are still in Romania.

File photo of a Romanian gendarme guarding the Russian embassy entrance in Bucharest, Romania. EPA-EFE/ROBERT GHEMENT