The Embassy of the United Kingdom in Kyiv has apologized for British police’s decision to include the Ukrainian coat of arms, called the “tryzub,” in a counter-terrorism police manual distributed to medical staff and teachers as part of anti-extremism briefings.
The document, which was published by the Guardian on Jan. 17, has triggered a backlash in Ukraine, with many lambasting what they view as denigration of a Ukrainian national symbol.
“We recognize and regret the offense caused by the inclusion of the Ukrainian tryzub in a British police ‘visual guide manual,’” the embassy said on Jan. 20. “As the police have said, the document in question explicitly states that many of the symbols are not of counter-terrorism interest.”