Since the start of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the country led by president Vladimir Putin has been slapped with successive sanctions packages and numerous brands have closed down their shops in protest.

But the war has also given rise to anti-Russian sentiment, with churches, restaurants, language schools and businesses targeted with abusive messages, graffiti and vandalism.

“The government knows about isolated acts of Russophobia in Luxembourg,” said prime minister Xavier Bettel (DP) on Friday in answer to a parliamentary question. “On the basis of this information, the government can however not conclude that Russophobia is a general problem in society.”

Bettel had previously expressed his solidarity with the people in Ukraine but also with Russians both in Russia and abroad who oppose Putin’s war.

The prosecutors’ offices in Luxembourg City and Diekirch have registered one case linked to Russophobia, the minister said. There could be more cases due to the delay for complaints made with the police to be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office, he said. In addition, the justice system’s databases cannot be searched by nationality.

Persons who have been targeted can report incidents to the Centre for Equal Treatment. In case of criminal offences or if they fear for their safety, they should call the police, Bettel said.