Ukrainian group in court over protest at Russia's embassy in Berlin

A Ukrainian solidarity group plans to go to court over a ban on projecting images from the war on the facade of the Russian Embassy in Berlin.

The group, Vitsche, argued that the ban on projecting videos on embassy buildings as part of a protest in Berlin violates their freedom of expression, the group's lawyer, Patrick Heinemann, told dpa on Thursday.

Heinemann said the group plans to file an urgent appeal with Germany's Constitutional Court. An appeals court in Berlin upheld the ban, but Heinemann argued that the decision failed to consider basic political rights like the freedom to assembly.

The Berlin court held that the Ukrainian advocacy group's plans to project images on the Russian embassy building violates Germany's obligations under international law to protect the peace and dignity of foreign diplomatic missions.

The court cited the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The video projections are intended to be among the many demonstrations against the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine across Germany planned for Saturday, the second anniversary of the start of the full-scale invasion.