Ukrainian man sets himself on fire outside consulate in Poland

By Jo Harper

WARSAW (AA) – A Ukrainian man set himself on fire outside the Ukrainian Consulate in Poland’s southern Krakow city, local media reported on Thursday.

The 63-year-old was standing in line at the consulate when he suddenly started shouting in Ukrainian, witnesses told local news outlets.

According to radio station RMF FM, the man called on his compatriots to return to Ukraine to fight Russian forces.

“He then poured a flammable substance on himself, set himself on fire, and ran ahead,” Piotr Szpiech, an officer of the Krakow police, told news outlet Onet.

Police officers, along with a bystander, managed to catch the man and extinguish the flames.

He was taken to a hospital in critical condition, the report said.

The man, whose name has not been released, is a Ukrainian citizen living in the southeastern Lesser Poland region, a police official told Onet.

Witnesses are being questioned, but the motive for his self-immolation attempt is still unknown, the report added.