GROESBEEK /the Netherlands/, April 1. /TASS/. A small group of Russian and Dutch nationals came on Saturday to the Freedom Museum in the Netherlands in order to lay flowers at the T-72 tank, which was allegedly damaged in combat in Ukraine and is displayed outside the museum.

Emphasizing that the Dutch authorities’ actions are provocative, the participants said that their commemoration was held for the civilians killed in Donbass over the past nine years and for the Russian soldiers taking part in the special military operation in Ukraine.

The T-70 tank had earlier been put up on the square outside the Russian embassy in Berlin at the request of Ukrainian activists to protest against Russia’s actions in Ukraine, but the initiative ended up in a failure. The next day, Germans began flocking to the tank carrying flowers, protesting against weapons shipments to the conflict zone and stressing the need for peace talks. There were several clashes between pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian activists, and the tank was removed from the square a few days later. Afterwards, it was said to be transferred to the Netherlands.

Some Dutch media outlets warned that the tank in the Netherlands might lead to the same situation as in Berlin, or scuffles between people of opposite views, and that it could even result in physical violence.

"However, the Dutch government has once again embarked on the confrontational path, opting to add fuel to the fire," Natalya Vorontsova, who was participating in the event, told TASS.

"Personally, we, after seeing what action Germans did in Berlin, also decided to lay flowers at our tank, in order to commemorate those killed in Donbass that the Kiev regime has been terrorizing for nine years. We also want to pay tribute to our soldiers who are fighting for the liberation of Ukraine. We very much want Russia to win as soon as possible and [want] Nazism to be eradicated again, as it was 80 years ago.".