Russian consulate in New York vandalized with red paint

The Russian consulate in New York City was vandalized with red spray paint early Friday in a possible bias incident, a spokesman for the New York Police Department told Insider.

Authorities received a 911 call about the incident at around 1:30 a.m. on Friday and discovered that the facade of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in New York on Manhattan's Upper East Side had been completely doused with red paint, the police spokesman said.

Two people wearing black masks, dressed in black clothing, and holding a backpack were captured on surveillance footage vandalizing the East 91st Street building, according to the spokesman. No arrests have yet been made. The NYPD is investigating the vandalism as a possible bias incident, the spokesman said. The bright red paint appeared hours before Putin announced he was annexing four parts of Ukraine occupied by his army.