SYDNEY (BN24) — Australian police arrested a man Monday after a car crashed into the Russian consulate in Sydney, damaging the gates of the diplomatic property.
Television footage from Sky News and Nine Network showed a car with a shattered window abandoned near a Russian flagpole inside the grounds of the consulate, which is located in the suburb of Woollahra.
New South Wales Police said officers were called shortly after 8 a.m. local time (2200 GMT Sunday) following reports of an unauthorized vehicle in the driveway of a property on Fullerton Street, the address of the Russian consulate. Police said that when they attempted to speak with the driver, he accelerated and drove the vehicle into the gates.
The 39-year-old man behind the wheel was taken into custody at the scene. Authorities said a 24-year-old constable sustained a hand injury during the arrest but did not require hospital treatment.
A spokesperson at the Russian consulate declined to comment on the incident when contacted by phone.
The crash comes amid heightened diplomatic tensions between Russia and Western nations, though police have not released a possible motive. Investigators were continuing to examine the circumstances surrounding the crash.
