Vilnius police confirmed on Monday a fresh attack on the Holocaust memorial complex in Paneriai, a suburb of the Lithuanian capital, which had been smeared with symbols supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
“On April 2, a report was received that the letters ‘V’ and ‘Z’ had been written overnight on some of the memorial’s monuments,” Julija Samorokovskaja, spokeswoman for Vilnius County Police, told BNS.
“The report has been included in the ongoing pre-trial investigation,” she added.
Last Friday, the police said the Paneriai complex had been defaced with “Z” and “V”, symbols of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Rūta Ribinskaitė of the Jewish Community of Lithuania said the latest incident was a fresh attack, because the letters had been removed after the first act of vandalism.
Paneriai is the largest site of mass killings organised and carried out by the Nazis in Lithuania. Some 50,000 to 70,000 people, mostly Jews from Vilnius and surrounding areas, were killed between 1941 and 1944.
The “Z” symbol has spread as a symbol of support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian Defence Ministry explained in early March that the letter “Z” on military equipment stood for “Za pobedu” (“For victory”), while the letter “V” meant “Sila v pravde” (“Strength is in truth”) and “Zadacha budet vypolnena” (“The task will be completed”).
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