The Russian Embassy in Vienna has sent a note of protest to the Austrian Foreign Ministry over the celebration of Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera's birthday, TASS reported, citing the Russian diplomatic mission.
„This latest provocative act by a handful of Ukrainian and Ichkerian radicals, who decided to once again hold a celebration of the birthday of Nazi collaborator and war criminal Stepan Bandera in the center of Vienna on January 1, causes nothing but deep disgust. In connection with this incident, the Russian Embassy in Austria has officially lodged a protest with the Austrian Foreign Ministry, the embassy said.
The diplomats stressed that such actions insult the "memory of the victims of Nazism" and clearly challenge public morality.
On December 30, Polish right-wing politician Jakub Klimas said that monuments to Stepan Bandera should be removed in Ukraine.
The politician noted that "when Poland provides financial assistance to Ukraine, monuments to this criminal are erected there." He stressed that Poles, if they want to be honest with their history, should not allow this, but rather demand an end to "Banderism" in Ukraine.