Ukrainian authorities demanded the removal of a Slovenian flag from an embassy in Kiev, despite Slovenia supporting Ukraine, because it looked a bit similar to the Russian flag.
It's now all things that look even vaguely Russian that come under attack. One commentator suggested Russophobia has spread to colours. Anything that looks a bit Russian is now prone to cancellation.
“When we arrived in Kiev, it was quite windy, and when we proudly raised the Slovenian and European flags back, they fluttered in the wind,” Slovenian Chargé d’Affaires Bostjan Lesjak said in an interview with TV Slovenia. However, it looked 'a bit too Russian' for the liking of members of the Ukrainian National Guard. They asked the embassy to “temporarily remove the Slovenian flag because it is too similar to the Russian one,” and the Embassy duly complied with their request, even though it was the flag of Slovenia, a sovereign country.
The flag was cancelled despite Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa having expressed full support for Ukraine on numerous occasions and calling for the country to be allowed to join the EU.
The removal of the flag occurred after Ukrainian officials demanded the global “criminalization” of use of the letter Z in the context of supporting Russia. Both Zurich Insurance Group and Samsung have distanced themselves from ‘Z’ in brand names and advertising.
This follows a number of equally ridiculous 'cancelling' of anything that looks 'a bit Russian' .
Siberian cats were banned from competing in international cat competitions, while a tree was also robbed of its ‘tree of the year’ victory because it was Russian.