Security
Diplomatic protest after Russian strike injures Colombians in Ukrainian restaurant
The injured Colombians were on a mission to express Latin American solidarity with the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia's war on its neighbor.
![Rescuers and volunteers work to rescue victims from under the rubble after a Russian missile strike hit a restaurant and several houses in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, on June 27. [Genya Savilov/AFP]](/gc4/images/2023/06/29/42810-abad_jaramillo-600_384.webp)
By AFP and Entorno |
BOGOTA -- President Gustavo Petro said Wednesday (June 28) that Bogota would send a note of diplomatic protest to Russia after three Colombians were injured in a missile strike that killed 12 at a restaurant in Ukraine.
Petro said on Twitter, "Russia has attacked three defenseless Colombian civilians. In so doing it violated the protocols of war."
He added the foreign ministry would deliver a note of diplomatic protest to Moscow.
Three children were among the dead and at least 56 people were injured in Tuesday's rocket strike on the Ria Pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk.
![Writer Héctor Abad Faciolince (R) and former Colombian peace negotiator Sergio Jaramillo (L) joined forces in a mission to demonstrate Latin American solidarity with the Ukrainian people in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Tragically, both were among the 56 individuals injured during the devastating missile attack on June 27 at the Ria Pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk, which killed 12 civilians. [Twitter]](/gc4/images/2023/06/29/42809-jaramillo_abad-600_384.webp)
The three injured Colombians are writer Héctor Abad Faciolince, former Colombian peace negotiator Sergio Jaramillo and journalist Catalina Gomez.
Restaurant filled with people
Abad and Jaramillo were on a mission to express Latin American solidarity with the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia's war on its neighbor.
On social media, they said they were with Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina in the restaurant and that she was in critical condition.
Abad told Semana Magazine that Amelina was his friend and invited them to document Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
They stood in the ruins of Kramatorsk, where the poet Volodymyr Vakulenko had buried his diaries shortly before he was arrested, tortured and executed by Russian invaders. "He knew what was in store for him," he said.
"We had planned to go with her to Ria Pizza in Kramatorsk," he said. "It was her favorite restaurant in the city."
The site was full of employees and diners, including Ukrainian civilians and members of other nationalities. There were children, women and men of all ages.
"At nightfall, the Russians launched a missile at the restaurant where we were talking ... We had just ordered the pizzas and were joking about the dry law that allowed us to order only non-alcoholic beer," he narrated.
"I fell to the ground as if I had been struck by lightning. Everything started to move in slow motion. When I got up, Victoria was sitting up, very pale, her eyes closed and perfectly still. She didn't look hurt, but she wasn't reacting either. They took her in an ambulance. She has a serious head injury," he explained.
Petro had previously opposed sending weapons to support Ukraine against Russia's aggression, and has spoken in favor of a negotiated solution.
After he discussed security and other matters with US President Joe Biden in Washington in April, the two leaders in a statement "condemned all forms of authoritarianism and aggression in the world, including Russia's violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity contrary to international law, while reiterating the urgent call for a stable and lasting peace."