Greenpeace Russia team attacked by armed masked men | WPN World People News

A Greenpeace Russia volunteer firefighting team were in medical care after being attacked overnight in their camp in the south of the country by a group of eight armed men, on 9 September.

The attack, on the night of 8-9 September, left a Greenpeace Russia staff member, Michael Kreindlin, with a broken nose and concussion, while a volunteer from the Trans-Baikal Territory, Andrey Polomoshnov, likely sustained a rib fracture. Both men were given medical assistance. The attackers sliced through tents, damaged vehicles, threw a stun grenade into one of the cars, and stole valuable equipment.

“The attackers climbed over the fence. They held batons, knives and guns. I tried to stop them but they threatened me with gun, put me on the ground, fired a shot next to my head and poured some chemicals on me. They said that if we do not get out of here by dawn, then we won’t be seen anymore. They called us pro western and beat up our team members” said the Greenpeace Russia firefighting project's coordinator, Grigoriy Kuksin.

The activists immediately notified the police and ambulance services and were relocated for their own security. They committed to cooperate with the investigation and help finding the attackers. Together with other environmental NGOs, Greenpeace Russia committed to continue to fight the wildfires in the south of Russia.

The Greenpeace Russia team arrived in the Krasnodar region on September 5 to help local authorities and environmental activists fight wildfires, since the authorities failed to prevent or limit the wildfires in the area. The purpose of the Greenpeace Russia expedition is the prevention of illegal open burning in valuable wetlands and coastal salt lakes, which suffer from fires every year.

Source: Greenpeace International