So that it does not disturb the religious acts. Berlin banned portraits of Putin and Zelensky at Soviet monuments

Measures according to the diary The daily mirror it concerns the monumental memorial and cemetery of seven thousand Soviet soldiers in the Treptow district, the memorial in the central Berlin Tiergarten park near the Brandenburg Gate, and also the memorial in the Schönholzer Heide park in the Pankow district.

“Commemorative acts and the seriousness of these monuments must be protected, even with regard to the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war. This war in Berlin, especially given the symbolic date, must not degenerate from a democratic debate into conflicts and disputes,” the Berlin police said in a statement.

In addition to the portraits of the named presidents, the ban also covers other symbols, including the Russian and Ukrainian flags, the letters Z and V that mark Russian tanks in Ukraine, black and orange St. George’s ribbons and uniforms. Slogans in support of Russian aggression against a neighboring country are also prohibited.

Veterans of the Second World War, diplomats and delegations of former allies against Nazi Germany, i.e. direct participants in commemorative events, are exempt from the bans.

The police order is based on the German-Russian war graves care agreement signed in 1992. The German police have an obligation to protect Soviet memorials and war graves due to Germany’s historical responsibility.

Meanwhile, a group of several hundred members of the Russian Night Wolves motorcycle club, which has close ties to Putin, is on its way to Berlin. According to AFP, it is “hardly conceivable” that Russian bikers would reach Berlin, given the sanctions imposed on them by the European Union.