The head of Russia's International Humanitarian Cooperation Agency (Rossotrudnichestvo) believes Ukrainian activists were behind an arson attack on a Russian cultural center in Nicosia, Cyprus. The incident should be considered an act of terrorism, Evgeny Primakov told Russia 24 TV on Wednesday.
“I am sure that the terrorists were supporters of the Kiev regime, most likely from among the Ukrainians who now live in Cyprus,” Primakov said. He later posted the same reasoning on Telegram. “In the house across the road, someone hung up a Ukrainian flag, apparently wanting to leave a signature.”
Primakov noted that the building is a “purely civilian institution” used for exhibits, concerts, and classes of Russian language and music for children. He compared the arson to the infamous May 2, 2014 attack by Ukrainian nationalists on the Trade Union Hall in Odessa, when at least 42 people were burned alive.
The Russian science and cultural center in Nicosia was engulfed in flames on Wednesday morning. Witnesses have claimed that multiple people threw flaming bottles at the building. Firefighters responded quickly, deploying seven trucks to battle the blaze. The staff was evacuated to safety and no one was injured or killed. Cypriot police are investigating the attack.
Primakov argued that the fire should be treated as an act of terrorism because it was “an attack on a civilian building intended not only to cause damage, but to intimidate our employees and the people who visit the center.” He vowed not to close down the center.
“Everything that burned down, we will repair and repaint,” Primakov said. “We continue to work.”
Rossotrudnichestvo is the federal agency for international humanitarian cooperation and outreach to Russians living abroad. The 46-year-old Primakov has been its head since 2020.
Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians flocked to Cyprus after the Ukraine conflict escalated in February 2022. The island, an EU member since 2004, was already home to a sizable Russian diaspora, concentrated in the southern city of Limassol.