Volunteer firefighters
working for environmental organization Greenpeace have been attacked
with knives and stun grenades
in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, according to a statement by the group on Friday.
Two
activists suffered broken bones in
the attack, which took place early Friday morning.
"The
attackers climbed over the fence at about 1 a.m. They had batons, knives,
guns,” said the head of Greenpeace Russia's
firefighting project, Grigory Kuksin. Another
man threw stun grenades, he
said.
A group of eight men damaged property, slashed the tires of the group's cars, and stole equipment, said Kuksin.
Graffiti reading “Here are the 'pendosy,'” a derogatory Russian term for Americans, also appeared on the gates of the Greenpeace camp.
Police were called to the scene alongside ambulance services.
Greenpeace reported on Thursday that a group of men who identified themselves as Cossacks had blocked its volunteer firefighters from assisting emergency workers. The volunteers were later ejected from their camp without reason, the organization said.
The activists had been working in the Kuban area, where a major blaze threatens internationally protected estuaries.
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