Ukraine flag appears on big screen during Putin visit to Kazakhstan

ASTANA (Reuters) – Kazakh police are investigating the brief appearance of the Ukrainian flag on a large LED screen in the capital city, Astana, during a visit there by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakhstan’s interior ministry said on Thursday.

Ukraine’s flag – with its horizontal bands of blue and yellow – briefly appeared late on Wednesday instead of the Russian white, blue and red tricolor on a screen located on one of Astana’s main thoroughfares.

Putin was already in the city at the time, and the screen was soon switched off, but images and videos of the incident quickly circulated online.

The interior ministry said in a statement it was looking into all possible versions, including a technical glitch and a hacker attack.

According to an opinion survey conducted last year, a majority of Kazakhs are neutral regarding the Russia-Ukraine war, but among the rest, supporters of Ukraine significantly outnumber those of Russia.

And with Russia being one of Kazakhstan’s biggest trading partners, issues in its economy often spill over. On Thursday, Kazakhstan’s tenge currency fell to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar after a sharp weakening of the Russian rouble.

(Reporting by Tamara Vaal; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Gareth Jones)