Die Republik Österreich
Comment by the Information and Press Department on the desecration of the Soviet War Memorial in Vienna
We express our indignation over this appalling incident, which is a flagrant display of vandalism and which is even more outrageous considering that the WWII memorial was vandalised in the year of the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War, Austria's liberation from Nazism and the end of World War II.
A note of protest was sent to the country's Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, with demands it take urgent measures to repair the damage done, to identify and punish the culprits, and to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Given that similar acts of vandalism have taken place before, we insist that the Austrian authorities take profound action to ensure appropriate protection of the memorial.