Lithuanian police detain men who allegedly tore down Ukrainian flag from ministry building

In Lithuania, a man who may have torn down a Ukrainian flag from the Ministry of Transport and Communications in Vilnius has been detained.

Source: Lithuanian media outlet LRT, citing law enforcement data, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The incident occurred at around 04:45 on Thursday 12 November. At that time, a 21-year-old man, who may have been under the influence of alcohol, allegedly tore down the Ukrainian flag from the building of the Ministry of Transport and Communications in Vilnius.

Following this, according to law enforcement officers, he broke its flagpole and carried it along the avenue, before throwing the flag into a bin lorry.

Later that evening, law enforcement officers detained the suspect and placed him in a detention centre. He has been charged with desecrating the flag of a foreign state.

Background:

• In October, the Harju County Court sentenced a 44-year-old Estonian citizen to three months' suspended imprisonment for desecrating a Ukrainian flag near the Russian embassy in Tallinn.
• In April, a Lithuanian national was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for desecrating the state symbol of Ukraine, inciting hatred against a national group and disturbing public order.
• In the summer of 2025, a court in Prague acquitted seven activists whom authorities had sought to hold criminally liable for painting a Ukrainian flag in front of the so-called "Russian houses" – a residential complex belonging to the Russian embassy in the Czech Republic.

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