In Portugal, pro-Vladimir Putin Russians were in charge of hosting Ukrainian refugees in a communist-held commune as the party, which refuses to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is at the center of a controversy.
With our correspondent in Lisbon, Marie-Line Darcy
Yulia Kashin is a civil servant at the town hall of Setubal, 30 km south of Lisbon. Her husband, Igor, heads two associations: the House of Russia and the Council of Russian Patriots. The couple was responsible for receiving Ukrainian refugeesmajority, within the framework of the specific aid system set up by the communist town hall of Setubal: 160 people were welcomed there.
But the curious behavior of the Kashin couple led to denunciation in the press. The Kashins, who photocopied and kept the documents of the refugees, also asked a lot of questions about the whereabouts of their husbands who remained in Ukraine. We then realized that the two associations headed by Igor Kashin are linked to Russian state institutions founded by the Kremlin.
A pro-Russian and a pro-Putin to deal with the arrival of the Ukrainians… The scandal exploded.
At the very moment when the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) is being singled out for refusing to condemn the Russian invasion, and opposed the intervention of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Parliament. The latter now summons the PCP to explain itself, but the party denounces a plot to smear its reputation.
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