Montreal city councillor blasts Ukrainian anthem in front of Russian Consulate

Montreal city councillor Serge Sasseville stood in front of the Russian Consulate early Tuesday afternoon, flipped on a small speaker and turned up the volume to play the Ukrainian anthem.

The musical protest, punctuated by slogans shouted in support of Ukraine, has become a ritual for Sasseville, one he has been repeating daily for the past week.

The councillor's house is across the street from the consulate in downtown Montreal, and he said in an interview he feels a personal duty to publicly show his opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Consulate staff confirmed today they've seen and heard him several times outside their building's gates but said they have no time for what they called a "childish game."

A representative from the consulate said that since the invasion, members of the Russian diaspora in Montreal have received hateful messages and been victims of intimidation and vandalism.

The United Nations refugee agency said today more than 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine since Russia's invasion began on Feb. 24, turning the conflict into the worst displacement of Europeans since the Second World War.