The Russian Ambassador to Ireland, Yury Filatov, has told a Russian TV channel that Ireland is at the forefront of the European Union in staging anti-Russian events.
Sitting at a desk in front of a Russian flag this week, Mr Filatov listed out a series of complaints against the treatment of Russians in Ireland to Russia-24, the state-owned Russian-language news channel, in an extraordinary interview.
In a week where the United Nations estimates Russia’s bombardment of civilians in their homes, schools, and hospitals has forced a million to flee Ukraine, the ambassador spoke of damage to Russia’s Dublin embassy from Irish protesters and Russian children being bullied in Irish schools.
