Kremlin Renames Street in front of US Embassy in Moscow to “Donetsk People's Republic”

Russia is renaming the square in front of the US Embassy in Moscow after the self-proclaimed separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine, DPA and BTA reported.

The official recognition of the "republic" by Moscow in February led directly to the invasion of Russian forces in Ukraine. Kyiv's Western allies do not recognize the DPR as independent.

Today, the Moscow city administration issued a decree renaming the square. This decision forces the US embassy to henceforth mention the DPR, which Washington also does not recognize as an independent state when announcing its address.

The name was chosen by online voting, with the only other options being "Defenders of Donbas" and "Vladimir Zhoga", the name of a slain separatist leader. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has publicly backed a plan to rename the square.

Such diplomatic provocations are not a new tactic. In 2018, the square in front of the Russian embassy in Washington was renamed "Boris Nemtsov" after a Russian opposition politician killed in 2014, which angered Moscow.

The Czech capital, Prague, followed suit by setting up Nemtsov Square in front of the Russian embassy. An alley near the embassy was named "Anna Politkovskaya" after a shot-dead journalist who was critical of the Kremlin. Then the Russian embassy began to use the name of the consulate building as its official address.

After the start of the war in Ukraine, the Prague authorities also renamed the street where the Russian consulate is located, which is now called "Street of Ukrainian Heroes".

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