Moscow Energy Company Says 'Ukrainian' Paint Job Was Glitch

Six workers are being investigated after they accidentally painted a high-voltage transmission tower in southern Moscow in Ukraine's national colors.

Images of the giant blue-and-yellow electricity tower in Moscow quickly made the rounds on Russian social media networks — a day after four people were arrested for attaching a Ukrainian flag to one of Moscow's landmark Stalin-era buildings and covering its spire's Soviet star in paint.

The maintenance workers had been instructed to paint the tower to match the logo of electricity firm MOESK using three colors — blue, yellow and white — a spokesperson for the capital's south-western district was cited as saying by news agency Interfax.

"But for some reason, workers got stingy on the white paint," the spokesperson said Thursday.

The six workers responsible for the embarrassing incident have been detained by police and there are plans to have the tower repainted, the spokesperson added.

But in a sign the painters might not be the only ones to blame for the glitch, the energy company's spokeswoman Elena Burenina told Moskva news agency that the missing third color was not white, but golden.

"They only had time to paint one of the towers in blue and yellow. Gold will soon be added," Burenina was quoted as saying, adding that the images of the tower posted online represented unfinished work.

Gazeta.ru news portal quoted a police officer stationed at the site that the tower's colors had "nothing to do with Ukraine."

"It was done by ordinary Russian guys," the police officer was quoted as saying.

Police also demanded that the news portal's photographer on the scene delete all pictures of the tower, and said that the area around the tower will remain off-limits for anyone but authorized personnel, the report said.

See also:

All Climbers Under House Arrest For Ukraine Flag on Stalinist Building