Pro-Kremlin group removes Ukrainian flags from Soviet tanks
Video shared by Russian embassy and television.
Members of Brat za Brata, a pro-Russian Slovak motorcycle gang, visited the eastern Slovak village of Dargov on Wednesday, August 14. Their mission: to remove Ukrainian flags painted on Soviet military equipment at a victory monument on the Dargov Pass.
The flags, a gesture of support for Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict launched by Russia in February 2022, had been added by unknown individuals, reports the Sme daily.
At the turn of 1944 and 1945, the village of Dargov became the centre of bloody battles between the Nazi German and Soviet armies. Approximately 22,000 soldiers died, and the small village was destroyed. Ukrainians also took part in the liberation of Slovak territory in the Red Army ranks.
After the Second World War, locals raised a monument featuring military equipment as a sign of gratitude for the gesture.
Story about pro-Kremlin vandals on Russian TV
Now, members of the pro-Russian group Brat za Brata (Brother for Brother) visited the memorial to remove Ukrainian flags painted on the equipment. The group published a video, showing their boss Matúš Alexa covering the Ukrainian flag on the Soviet T-34/85 tank with green paint. Other members then sprayed a red star on the tank as well as the SU-100 tank destroyer.
An uncut video was published by the Russian embassy in Slovakia, and later the Russian state television Rossiya 1 also aired a short report about them.
This is not the first time that support for the contemporary Russian army was supported in this way. In the summer of 2022, an unknown perpetrator sprayed the letter Z on military equipment.
Spreading Kremlin-aligned propaganda
The pro-Russian group, which was established in 2014, spreads pro-Kremlin propaganda. For example, in 2022 they visited the village of Ladomirová, eastern Slovakia, after Russian ambassador Igor Bratchikov accused the then village mayor of defaming the military cemetery. The bikers also published the name and photo of the former mayor, who subsequently received death threats.
Members of Brat za Brata were also spotted a few months ago in occupied Crimea. They were part of a delegation monitoring the Russian presidential elections, effectively legitimising the process.
Not long ago, Meta blocked their Facebook and Instagram accounts, with almost 120,000 followers on the former social media platform. However, the US tech firm restored the accounts within 24 hours, refuting Alexa's claim that the European Parliament had ordered Meta to block Brata za Brata's accounts.
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