Russian diplomats called out the news agency Reuters on Friday for not noticing that a Ukrainian man they identified only as a “local resident” in the city of Kharkov had an elaborate Nazi tattoo on his arm.
“We’ve fixed your oopsie, Reuters,” the Russian arms control mission in Vienna tweeted on Friday, putting a red circle around the man’s tattoo and posting an enlarged image alongside, showing it more clearly.
“In case you forgot, a Nazi is a Nazi is a Nazi,” the mission added.
The diplomats called the photo “another propaganda stunt to slander Russia.” Reuters had captioned the photo as the aftermath of an alleged Russian strike on a residential area of Kharkov. Moscow has consistently denied attacking civilian infrastructure, insisting it only targets military objects.
“A local resident inspects a damaged van following a military strike, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine,” said the caption for the picture, taken by Reuters photographer Ivan Alvarado and published on June 8 as part of a photo gallery.
The man, whose face cannot be seen in the photo, is peering into a white van peppered with shrapnel holes. A massive swastika inside a circle can be seen peeking out from beneath the left sleeve of his light blue t-shirt, part of a tattoo that looks like an armband worn by Nazi party members.
The Russian arms control mission in Austria was hardly the first to notice the tattoo. Multiple social media users have responded to Reuters wondering about the caption or the choice to include it in the collage.