South Korea urges Russian embassy to remove ‘victory’ banner as Ukraine war anniversary nears

SEOUL, Feb 23 (Reuters) – South Korea has asked the Russian embassy in Seoul to take down a large banner reading “Victory will be ours”, South Korea said, ahead of the fourth anniversary this week of the start of war in Ukraine.

The ministry said in a statement Sunday that it had forwarded its concerns to the embassy, ​​without saying whether it had received a response.

The nearly 15-metre (49.21 ft) banner, in the colors of the Russian flag and written in Russian, was hung on the outer wall of the embassy in central Seoul on Tuesday ahead of the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The banner remained in place Monday.

In its statement, the ministry reiterated South Korea’s position that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was illegal.

The ministry also stated that military cooperation between Russia and North Korea should end, describing it as a serious threat to the security of South Korea and a violation of the UN Charter and UN Security Council resolutions.

Earlier this month, Russian Ambassador to South Korea Georgy Zinoviev praised the role of North Korean troops in the battle in Russia’s Kursk region, according to media reports.

According to South Korean, Ukrainian and Western sources, under a mutual defense agreement with Russia in 2024, North Korea sent approximately 14,000 troops to fight alongside Russian troops against Ukraine; More than 6,000 of these soldiers were killed.

The Russian embassy in Seoul could not immediately be reached for comment by phone. An automated voice message stated that the embassy was closed on Monday for a public holiday.

(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim, Editing by Ed Davies and Saad Sayeed)