A man stands with a Ukrainian flag on a Soviet-style star re-touched with blue paint of the yellow-and-blue national colours of Ukraine, on the spire of a building in Moscow yesterday. Photo: Reuters

Four people who climbed a Moscow skyscraper yesterday and attached a Ukrainian flag to its spire have been charged with vandalism by Russian police and may face three years in jail.

The protesters also managed to paint half a massive yellow star at the top of the spire with blue paint, so it resembled the yellow-and-blue national colours of Ukraine.

After the four were arrested, maintenance crews quickly removed the flag from the Stalin-era building, which towers over the Moscow River and houses businesses and apartments, and were starting to remove the blue paint.

A photograph on social media, which could not be verified independently, showed a man in a climbing harness, standing on top of the star, with the Ukrainian flag tied to one of its points. He appeared to be taking a selfie photograph.

An official in the Moscow police press office said the suspects were two men and two women. No details on the circumstances of the arrest were immediately available.

Opinion polls show that most Russians back Russian President Vladimir Putin’s policy on Ukraine wholeheartedly, though a minority believes he is isolating Russia.

Meanwhile also yesterday Red Cross officials entered eastern Ukraine to smooth the planned delivery of relief supplies aboard a Russian aid convoy, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said. The convoy has been stuck at the Russia-Ukraine border for nearly a week due to Ukrainian concerns it could serve as a Trojan horse to infiltrate military supplies to pro-Russian separatists in the area. Moscow says the mission is purely humanitarian in support of civilians trapped by the conflict.

Polls show most Russians back President Vladimir Putin’s policy on Ukraine wholeheartedly

“An advance ICRC team crossed into eastern Ukraine yesterday morning, having received security guarantees from groups controlling the territory for this mission.

“The team is checking conditions of the road, and the general situation, and establishing contacts in preparation for the passage of the convoy,” ICRC spokesman Ewan Watson told Reuters in Geneva.

However, the ICRC had no time frame for when the cross-border aid operation might start as Ukrainian authorities had yet to begin inspecting cargo on the approximately 260 trucks, Watson said.

ICRC officials and vehicles are expected to accompany the Russian trucks and their drivers once they get the green light. The Russian convoy carrying 2,000 tons of water, baby food and other humanitarian aid left Moscow on August 12, arriving at the border a few days later.