Wrecked tank deposited in front of Russian Embassy in Berlin

A destroyed Russian tank was placed in front of the Russian Embassy in Berlin in protest at Russia's war against Ukraine on Friday.

It is the day of the first anniversary of Moscow's full invasion of its neighbour.

The wrecked T-72 tank arrived in the capital early in the morning and will serve as a memorial against the war in front of the embassy on the boulevard Unter den Linden. It will remain there for a few days.

Author and publisher Wieland Giebel, who co-initiated the action, called the tank a "symbol of doom."

"The [Russian] regime will go down just as the Third Reich went down, he shouted, referring to Germany's Nazi dictatorship.

"Here in the embassy sit the war criminals. That's why we put the Russians' junk tank in front of their door."

His co-initiator, the artist Enno Henze, said: "The transience of man and machine is sadly easy to see here."

On Friday, the tank stood positioned on the trailer that transported it from Ukraine to Germany. The wreckage was lined up on the central reservation of the very wide street, its canon pointed at the embassy.

The initiators of the action said the tank had hit a mine during the Russian army's attack on Kiev on March 31 and was destroyed by the explosion. Presumably soldiers died in it.

The tank belonged to a unit stationed far to the east of Russia. The Military History Museum of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry lent the tank and supported its transport.

The plan to erect the destroyed tank in Berlin as a memorial has a long history. After the Berlin district of Mitte initially refused permission, the initiators of the Berlin Story Bunker Museum pushed their project through in court.

Originally the tank was supposed to remain in front of the Russian Embassy for longer, but the plan ultimately failed due to technical district requirements. According to the initiators, the tank will be exhibited in the Netherlands starting next week.