The first court hearing in the case of the vandalism of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau has been set for December 16, 2022, at the Chisinau Court, Buiucani seat. The announcement was made on social media by the 40-year-old Russian citizen, who on the evening of October 7 wrote on the Russian Embassy gate “Putin – murderer”.

“On December 16, at 15:30, a court hearing will be held in the case of the act of vandalism in front of the Russian Embassy in Moldova, which I committed on October 7. I hope that everything will be resolved as soon as possible and that this trial will not take many months. Therefore, I invite my friends to this action, at the address Chisinau, 200 Stefan cel Mare Street. Those who can’t come, follow social media, I will tell and show as many details as possible,” the man wrote on social media.

On the evening of 7 October 2022, firecrackers and fireworks were thrown over the fence of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Moldova, and “Putin – murderer” was written on the gate of the diplomatic mission in Russian.

“A 40-year-old man from Russia committed several hooligan acts near the Russian Embassy. He vandalised the embassy gate with graffiti, launched fireworks near the building and hung a piece of blue and white cloth on a metal crowbar. When summoned by the Carabinieri General Inspectorate employees, the individual resisted, was subsequently taken down from the embassy fence, handcuffed and detained. He was arrested for 72 hours and is under criminal investigation for hooliganism,” Nina Dubovca, press officer of the Chisinau Police Department, told ZdG.

“With the complicity of the authorities, an attack was made on the Russian diplomatic mission: the explosion of firecrackers damaged the building, an attempt was made to enter the embassy complex without authorisation, insulting inscriptions were made on the fence of the diplomatic mission. Fortunately, there were no casualties among employees and family members,” according to the statement.

The Russian embassy alleges serious violation of the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 18 April 1961, the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Moldova, as well as the Joint Declaration of the Foreign Ministers of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Moldova on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of its signing in Moscow, 17 November 2021.

Subsequently, the Russian-born citizen who vandalised the Russian Embassy gate with graffiti announced that he was released on his own responsibility and wrote a message explaining his actions.

“If you suddenly think what kind of a madman is the one who wrote the truth on the gates of the Russian embassy “PUTIN KILLER”, flew a blue-white flag and shot up the consulate, then don’t hurt your brains, it was me. If you were worried about me (which is unlikely), then I was released on my own recognizance and a criminal case was opened under the vandalism article. Well, if all of a sudden you didn’t see the action itself, then you can watch the snippets that various guys managed to capture,” writes Alexandr Kudashev.

On 10 October, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced that it would submit “a legal assessment” of the vandalism of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau on the evening of 7 October.

“The Russian Investigative Committee will give a proper legal assessment of the fact of the hostile action against the Russian Embassy in Chisinau. (…) Investigators of the Russian Investigative Committee will request the necessary information from the Russian Foreign Ministry and will establish all the circumstances of the incident,” the Russian Foreign Ministry announced.