On top of an EU foreign ministers meeting today in Brussels to consider a blocwide boycott of the European soccer championship to be held in Ukraine, a topless protester from the infamous Femen women's rights group slightly damaged UEFA's famous Henri Delaunay Trophy as it went on public display over the weekend in the Ukrainian capital.
In a statement, Femen said:
"On her 23rd birthday, Femen activist Yulia Kovpachyk attacked the Euro trophy during its exhibition on Independence Square. Deceiving the numerous security guards, the activist managed to bare her torso with the inscription ['F***] Euro 2012' and throw the trophy to the ground."
Security guards attend to the wounded trophy. It escaped with minor injuries.
Kovpachyk was arrested and is due to appear in court today on a charge of hooliganism, which carries a maximum fine of 800 hryvnyas ($100) and 15 days in detention.
Femen believes the soccer tournament will encourage sex tourism.
Reuters quoted Femen activist Oleksandra Shevchenko as saying, "We came here today to stop this Euro fan lowlife from making a bordello out of Ukraine."
Ukraine is co-hosting the tournament with Poland starting next month, with the final match scheduled to be held in Kyiv on July 1.
Some 1 million foreign tourists are expected in Ukraine for the championship.
The European Union is considering a boycott of the tournament due to what it considers to be the Ukrainian government's ill-treatment of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for abuse of office.
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Written by RFE/RL editors and correspondents, Transmission serves up news, comment, and the odd silly dictator story. While our primary concern is with foreign policy, Transmission is also a place for the ideas -- some serious, some irreverent -- that bubble up from our bureaus. The name recognizes RFE/RL's role as a surrogate broadcaster to places without free media. You can write us attransmission+rferl.org
