Man Sets Himself on Fire Outside Russian Embassy

A man drove his car into the fence surrounding the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, Romania, then allegedly set himself and the vehicle on fire and later died at the scene in what local media believe to have been an act of protest.

According to Romanian 24-hour news channel Digi 24, the man was Bogdan Drăghici, leader of the group TATA (Anti-Discrimination Alliance of All Dads), which advocates for equal rights for mothers and fathers.

After crashing his car against the embassy fence at around 6 a.m., according to police, Drăghici allegedly shouted at the security guards patrolling the building and set himself on fire as they approached the vehicle.

Firefighters rushed to the scene and extinguished the blaze, but they were unable to save his life.

There is no further information yet about the possible motives behind the crash.

On Tuesday, Drăghici was sentenced to 15 years and four months in jail for sexually assaulting and raping his daughter, a minor, according to Digi 24. The investigation into the case had started in 2019 and no further details were immediately available.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Russian embassies across Europe and around the world have been targeted by protests against Russia's invasion of its neighbor.

A few hundred people gathered to protest in front of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest on March 27 and on April 3, with demonstrators holding signs reading "Putin's war is targeting each and every one of us!", "End the war before it ends you," and "Russians, stop the war."

Romania is one of the countries that has welcomed large numbers of the 4.2 million Ukrainian refugees who have fled the war-torn country since the conflict broke out in late February. According to UN estimates, more than 600,000 Ukrainians have crossed the border into Romania.

Diplomats Expelled

On Tuesday, Romania's foreign ministry announced that the country would expel 10 Russian diplomats who it said weren't acting in accordance with international rules.

"Romanian authorities have decided to declare personae non gratae on Romanian territory 10 people working at the Russian embassy in Bucharest, given that their actions contravene the Vienna Convention," the ministry said in a statement on April 5.

It added that the ministry "firmly condemns the crimes committed in Bucha and other Ukrainian towns for which Russia is responsible."

Russia reiterated its stance on the civilian killings in Bucha, Irpin and other towns around Kyiv at the UN Security Council yesterday, saying that images of executed civilians are fake news produced by Ukrainian and Russian media to discredit Russia.