The Russian Consulate building in New York City was vandalized with red spray paint in the early hours of Friday. (Photos by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/0iptrtWedZThe Russian Consulate in New York City was vandalized with a large amount of red spray paint on Thursday evening or early Friday morning.
The New York Police Department was called to the consulate on 91st St. in Manhattan's Upper East Side just after 1:30 a.m.
— Michael M. Santiago (@msantiagophotos) September 30, 2022
The doors, security cameras, and exterior of the consulate were all splattered with a deep red paint — which remained on the building as of Friday afternoon. The Russian consulate in NYC was vandalized in advance of Putin’s annexation announcement today.pic.twitter.com/LElpaLSU5h Russian consulate in NYC. pic.twitter.com/8tWe6Soly1
— Leah McElrath 🏳️🌈 (@leahmcelrath) September 30, 2022
— Hemeny123 (@ryan228841) September 30, 2022
No arrests had been made as of Friday afternoon, but a spokesperson for the NYPD told The Hill that the vandalism is under investigation as a "possible bias incident."
The vandalism came hours before Putin spoke at a ceremony at St. George's Hall to celebrate the annexed regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. During the speech, he claimed that the West is trying to turn Russia into a colony and "crowds of slaves."
“History has called us to a battlefield to fight for our people, for the grand historic Russia, for future generations,” Putin said.
Shortly after Putin's speech, as Timcast reported earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his nation has applied for a fast-tracked membership into NATO.
"We are taking our decisive step by signing Ukraine's application for accelerated accession to NATO," Zelenskyy said in the video. The moment president Zelenskyy signed the application for Ukraine’s accession to NATO in an accelerated manner pic.twitter.com/kw0kyKeI6e
— ТРУХА⚡️English (@TpyxaNews) September 30, 2022
"De facto, we have already proven compatibility with alliance standards. They are real for Ukraine — real on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction," Zelenskyy said. "We trust each other, we help each other, and we protect each other. This is the alliance."
Zelenskyy also said that he is not open to negotiating with President Putin.
"We are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia," the Ukrainian president said.
