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Soviet Monuments in Lithuania Spray-Painted in Ukraine's National Colors

A woman holds up a Ukrainian national flag while standing on top of a monument as a pro-Ukranian meeting takes place in the southern coastal town of Mariupol, Ukraine.

Lithuanian police are looking for the culprits behind the spray-painting of two Soviet monuments in Ukraine's blue-and-yellow colors in a move bound to rile Moscow, which has strongly protested such actions in the past.

The first of the two monuments, located in a cemetery in the northern district of Akmene, was reported to have been vandalized on Sunday, while the second was discovered on Tuesday, Interfax news agency reported.

The police district head, Egidijus Meizys, said in comments carried by BNS that the monuments were only 15 kilometers apart and that it was possible the acts of vandalism were carried out by the same person, the report said.

It is also possible the crimes were carried out on the same day, but were just discovered at different times, he added.

Russia has repeatedly expressed its displeasure over the vandalizing of Soviet monuments in post-Soviet and former satellite states, most recently condemning Bulgaria for failing to prevent a war monument from being spray-painted in Sofia.

The Russian Embassy in Lithuania has yet to comment on the latest incident.

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