The Russian State Duma has urged the Ukrainian authorities to punish organizers of the provocations in Lviv on May 9.
"The organizers and participants in the blasphemous provocations in Lviv must be immediately punished in line with Ukrainian law," the State Duma said in a statement on "extremist actions in Lviv during celebrations of Victory Day," approved on Wednesday.
"Those who cannot put up with the verdict of history and stage dirty provocation at a time when mankind is paying its unconditional respect to those who died defending peace and freedom, and celebrating victory over absolute and undeniable evil, arouse enormous indignation," the statement says.
"Members of Ukrainian nationalistic organizations, with the Lviv authorities’ connivance, committed acts of vandalism against the main symbols of victory. They attacked veterans of the Great Patriotic War and treaded down a memorial wreath which was to be laid at a military cemetery," the statement says.
The Duma noted, however, that "the incident has nothing to do with Ukraine’s official policy and will never impact positive developments in Russian-Ukrainian relations."
