Ukrainian activists have erected a mock tombstone to Russian President Vladimir Putin outside the Russian embassy in Kyiv, playing on speculation about his prolonged absence.
The protest was carried out by the Automaidan group, which organized antigovernment car processions on Kiev's Maidan Square during the pro-Europe protests that forced Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych from power in 2014.
On March 15, around a dozen vehicles flying Ukrainian and Automaidan flags pulled up outside the embassy building in the southwest of the capital.
The activists proceeded to pour liquid cement on the pavement and then fix in place a black marble headstone.
The plaque, depicting the Russian president with a Hitler-style moustache, read "Khu#lo V.V. 12.03.2015," referring to Putin by his first name and patronymic Vladimir Vladimirovich, prefaced by an obscenity, with the supposed date of death.
"Don't let us down," the plaque, which was stamped with a swastika, urged Putin.
