Anti-Putin protesters showed exactly where they want to stick him when they dunked an effigy of the Russian president in a golden toilet. Onlookers clapped and shouted “bravo” as a man lifted up the naked papier mache creation and placed him in the bowl, up to his shoulders.
And one man said: “A***ole (Putin) into the toilet,” at the artistic demonstration which took place outside the Russian embassy in Prague.
Nearby hundreds of Ukrainians had gathered in the Old Town Square and were chanting “Glory to Czechia”.
The video of Saturday’s protest was shared on social media and when asked about the significance of the dunking @TarmoFella said: “Naked killers’ is an art installation by @Kaputin_Off that depicts a naked Putin sitting on a golden toilet with Lukashenko on his lap.”
“In this video, activists push Putin into the toilet.”
The protests in the Czech Republic’s capital city against the leaders of Russia and Belarus came a day after the pair, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, had a meeting to talk about deploying nuclear weapons to Belarus.
Putin said during the meeting that work on building facilities for the nuclear weapons will be completed by July 8, and they will be moved to the territory of Russia’s neighbour and ally quickly after that.
The move comes as Ukraine has stepped up attacks in several sectors of the front line in what some observers see as the start of its long-expected counteroffensive.
Russia used Belarus’ territory to send its troops into Ukraine in February last year and has kept forces and weapons on the territory of its ally.
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During televised remarks as he hosted Lukashenko at his residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin said: “Everything is proceeding as planned.
“On July 7-8 the preparations of the relevant facilities will be completed and we will immediately start the activities linked to the deployment of those weapons on your territory.”
Tactical nuclear weapons are intended to destroy enemy troops and weapons on the battlefield.
They have a relatively short range and a much lower yield than nuclear warheads fitted to long-range strategic missiles that are capable of obliterating whole cities.
Putin announced the planned deployment of short-range nuclear weapons in Belarus earlier this year in a move widely seen as a warning to the West as it stepped up military support for Ukraine.
He has emphasised that Russia will retain control of them. The Kremlin has not said how many nuclear weapons would be sent to Belarus.
The American government believes Russia has about 2,000 tactical nuclear weapons, which include bombs that can be carried by aircraft, warheads for short-range missiles and artillery rounds.
Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya strongly condemned the move. They said: “Putin and his puppet Lukashenko are planning to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus immediately before NATO’s summit in Vilnius in July.”
“This is a rude blackmail, an attempt to force Europe to back down, but we can’t allow dictators to dodge punishment for the nuclear blackmail.”
Lukashenko has been in power for 29 years and has relied on Russia’s political and economic support to survive months of protests, mass arrests and Western sanctions after an election in 2020. The result kept him in power but has been widely seen both at home and abroad as being rigged.
