An American tourist wearing a Russia shirt has been arrested in the Ukraine for disrupting an Independence Day event before calling arresting officers “Nazis”.

The incident took place in the Ukrainian city of Odessa ahead of the Independence Day of Ukraine, observed on 24th August with National Flag Day celebrated the day before.

The local authorities have confirmed that they arrested the American man after he caused a scene at a patriotic event and reportedly shouted at locals.

Police confirmed that said that a foreign national, name not disclosed, was detained for “disturbing public order.”

During the event to mark the country’s independence from the Soviet Union, the US citizen “behaved defiantly” and provoked people taking part in the “unfurling of the Ukrainian flag on the Potemkin Stairs”, they claimed.

The police added: “Unresponsive to the demands of law enforcement officers to stop his illegal activity, the man tried to escape as soon as he was taken to the police station.”

According to reports, the man wore a Russia top with the country’s national colours and told officers on the scene to “keep crying” and “you’re a Nazi”.

He also told cops that he was just “walking around”, adding: “Is this freedom in Ukraine?”

The police have not confirmed that the suspect is American, however, local media reported that he is a US national and witnesses said he was heard talking in an American accent.

The man is expected to be charged with hooliganism.

At the end of 2020, a 19-year-old Ukrainian citizen was arrested in the Ukrainian city of Lviv for wearing a ‘ushanka’ fur cap with the symbol of the Soviet Union.

The teen reportedly faces a jail term of five years for breaking laws on the use of communist symbols on clothes even though he said he bought it at a local market to keep his ears warm.