KIEV, Ukraine, June 16 (UPI) -- While attempting to quell an angry mob of protesters outside the Russian embassy in Kiev on Saturday, Ukrainian acting Foreign Minister Andrii Deshchytsia said he agreed with an assertion made by the protesters that "Yes, Putin is a khuilo, yes."
The Ukrainian word "khuilo" roughly translates to "dickhead." Ukrainians angered over Russian aggression have coined the phrase "Putin khuilo."
When the Ukrainian foreign minister arrived at the Russian embassy to reason with the protesters, who were throwing rocks and eggs, Deshchytsia told them, "I am for you protesting. I am ready to be here with you and say 'Russia get out of Ukraine.' ... Yes, Putin is a khuilo, yes."
The protesters then began chanting "Putin khuilo."
The incident angered Moscow, with some calling for Deshchytsia to be fired. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the French foreign ministry said, "expressed outrage over the inaction of the Kiev authorities who allowed the rioting outside the Russian embassy."
The protest erupted at the embassy on Saturday after pro-Russian separatists shot down a Ukrainian transport plane, killing 49 people, near Luhansk.
The Ukrainian government, NATO, European Union, and western countries have called on Russia to withdraw its support for the pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine's eastern region and to take concrete steps to defuse the crisis in Ukraine.
