Topless women protesting Ukraine war detained for vandalism near UN building

The women are with the group Femen, which is known for its provocative protests

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Activists of the feminist group Femen protest to support Ukraine and to demand Russia’s expulsion from the UN, in front of the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva. Photo: AP

Published: 8:37pm, 13 Dec 2024

At least three feminist activists were detained on Friday after vandalising a monument outside the United Nations complex in Geneva to protest Russia’s war against Ukraine and what they see as the UN’s failure to stop the conflict.

Two topless women with the group Femen, which is known for its provocative protests, used a chainsaw to cut into the wooden sculpture known as the “Broken Chair”.

One woman with white flowers in her hair left several large gashes in a leg of the sculpture, a 12m (40ft) tall giant chair with a broken leg. The artwork symbolises the dismemberment caused by landmines and is a call to ban the devastating weapons, which have also been used in the war in Ukraine.

The two women wore bands in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag on their legs. They had words including “stop mines” and “F – Russia” painted on their bare chests and backs in near-freezing temperatures, and shouted expletives repeatedly against the United Nations and Russia.

They declined to speak to reporters afterward. At least three women – including a colleague of the two demonstrators – were later detained by police officers in three cars.