PostedMay 26, 2022, 4:25 p.m.
In Kyrgyzstan, a mountain has been named in honor of the current Russian president. There now sits the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine. The Kyrgyz police promise to hunt down the “vandals”.
The Ukrainian flag flies near a plaque identifying a peak as Putin Peak, 4446 meters above sea level.
Twitter screenshot
Kyrgyz police said on Thursday they were investigating a Ukrainian flag which, according to images on social networks, had been planted on a summit named in honor of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose army is leading an offensive in Ukraine.
A surfer posing as a mountaineer posted a video on Twitter Thursday showing a Ukrainian flag waving near a plaque identifying a summit as Putin Peak, 4446 meters above sea level. “Vandals brought it in and planted it here, we have no idea who they are,” the user said, adding an emoticon suggesting sarcasm.
“Vandalism”
Kyrgyzstan, a poor and mountainous country in Central Asia, is a faithful ally of Russia. Police in the capital Bishkek said they had contact with two climbers who a ranger said headed for Putin Peak on Tuesday evening. “During their hearing as witnesses, they explained that they discovered the flag after climbing the summit and filming it on a phone,” the police spokesman said, adding that the culprits could be fined. for “vandalism”.
The mountaineer who posted the video wrote on Twitter that he was questioned by the police on Thursday, with his climbing partner, and was summoned on Friday, adding that people in charge of removing the flag had contacted them to find out which way to go.
Lenin the highest, ahead of Yeltsin and Putin
The previously unnamed peak in question was named Putin in honor of the Russian president in 2011, during a strengthening of Kyrgyzstan’s relations with Moscow, which followed a revolution in the country the previous year. Central Asia.
Russia’s first president, Boris Yeltsin, had also seen a 5,169-meter peak named in his honor nine years earlier. Both mountains are part of the Tian Shan range. Both are exceeded by the 7134 meters of Lenin Peak, on the border with Tajikistan, one of the highest peaks in the region.
(AFP)