Truckin’ great! Irishman protests Ukraine war, rams into Russian embassy

An Irishman drove his truck through the gates of the Russian embassy in Dublin, protesting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. His actions earned cheers from onlookers. 

Desmond Wisley, an Irish businessman from County Leitrim, to the north of the country, was arrested for criminal damage, and kept in custody after the incident, The Irish Times reported. 

The video shows the man backing the truck into the gates, smashing them open, as protestors outside cheer him on, saying “Bravo” and “Good Man”. Reportedly, nobody was hurt in the incident. 

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The trucker then exited his vehicle and proceeded to hand out flyers to those gathered outside the embassy. He claimed the photos showed Russian atrocities in Ukraine. The man said, “I just done this to create a safe corridor for the Russian ambassador to leave Ireland”, referring to Yuri Filatov, who’s held the position since 2017. 

He added, “I want the bastard and his colleagues to leave this country, leave this free country and go back to calling where there’s no freedom”. The Irishman further continued, “It’s about time we stood up. We’re all sleeping on our couches, cozy in our own houses and we have to do something.”

Wisley remained unapologetic about the entire incident, saying, “I’m a working man and this is my contribution today and I’m glad I’ve done it.”

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When approached by a police officer, the trucker showed the images and justified his actions. However, he had to be detained for dangerous driving. While being taken away from the scene, Wisley commented, “I’ve done my bit lads. It’s about time Ireland does theirs”. 

Initially, the Russian embassy vehemently opposed the actions, releasing a statement, saying “The embassy strongly condemns this criminal act of insanity directed against a peaceful diplomatic mission. The embassy views this incident as a clear and blatant violation of the article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic relations of 1961. The incident is cause of extreme concern. We believe that no people of sound mind could support such senseless and barbaric actions”, as per The Irish Times. 

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However, since then, it has softened its stance, and in a follow-up statement, said, “We would like to inform that additional measures have been undertaken by the Garda to ensure safety and security of the embassy and its personnel. The embassy appreciates cooperation by the Irish authorities in this matter”. 

Following this incident, law enforcement placed barriers in front of the Russian embassy, which has been the site of ongoing protests ever since President Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine. The Irish Times reported protestors having thrown red paint at the embassy entrance and vandalized the exteriors with messages such as “Nazis” and “Blood on your hands”. Last week, the Russian ambassador in Ireland also accused the protestors of showing aggression and said the country was at the forefront of “anti-Russian events” in the European Union, as per The Irish Times.