Warsaw is trying to "rewrite history" by blocking a group of pro-Kremlin Russian nationalist bikers from entering Poland to celebrate the allied victory over the Nazis in World War II, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry issued an online statement Monday expressing its "outrage" hours after Poland denied entry to the Night Wolves biker group.
See the Photo Gallery: Pro-Putin Bikers Travel Across Europe
"We demand explanations from the Polish authorities and decisively condemn their actions, which have demonstrated a readiness, for the sake of opportunistic considerations, to rewrite history and, in effect, to blaspheme against the heroism of those who have saved Poland and the world from fascism," the statement said.
The Polish Foreign Ministry said in a statement last week that it had sent a "diplomatic note" on April, 24 to the Russian embassy in Warsaw, explaining its refusal to allow the Night Wolves to proceed with their planned ride.
The official reasons focused mostly on technicalities, such as the lack of a detailed itinerary and the failure to provide advance notice about the group's plans to hold a rally in Poland.
But an online campaign by Polish activists urged Warsaw to ban entry to "bandits from Russia," citing the pro-Kremlin group's support for separatists in Ukraine.
"Where the Night Wolves appear, Russian aggression soon begins. They were in Crimea even before it was annexed by Russia. They were in the Donbass, and now are killing and robbing in towns occupied by [pro-Russian forces]," the Polish activists wrote on their Facebook page.
"Is their ride through Poland a warning for the Poles, or the start of a Russian aggression?" the group's post said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said last week that it doubted Poland's official explanation about the lack of itinerary details, and insisted that the "necessary information has been provided."
"In response to [Poland's] demands for the clarification of some parameters of the ride or provide additional information about hosts or participating bikers, the Russian side responded without delay," the ministry added in its April 24 statement.
The Night Wolves' leader, Alexander Zaldostanov, is a vocal supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has appeared several times in public with the Russian leader.
Night Wolves bikers showed up in Crimea before its annexation to patrol the roads and help guard the buildings seized by Russia's "green men" — the unmarked Russian special operations forces who occupied the peninsula ahead of its annexation — Radio Poland reported.
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