A recent drift run organized by Red Bull but not authorized by officials of Kyiv, Ukraine has left the energy drink company on the wrong side of the law — and with a little desecration of a UNESCO World Heritage Site to boot.
Red Bull planned to send two drift cars around a statue in front of the Saint Sofia Cathedral, over the traditional Kyiv yellow bricks. The brand did ask for permission to host the run, but Deputy Mayor Konstiantyn Usov said via Facebook that the request was turned down.
You can view the post below. The English translation is at the bottom of the post:
Basically, when Red Bull was denied permission to film the stunt, it decided it would do so anyway, without permission. The company showed up early in the morning, but it didn’t erect any safety barriers to prevent pedestrians from coming near the cars. No one was hurt, but it wasn’t exactly a great move from the company.
The video is said to be for a commercial, according to Bykvu, and it featured Ukrainian rapper Alyona Alyona in the passenger seat. Screenshots of posts from Red Bull Ukraine’s Instagram story also tagged pro drifters Aleksandr Grinchuk and Conor Shanahan in the post. They are presumably the drivers in the video; Grinchuk posted a photo of his car lined up on the square with the Saint Sofia Cathedral in the background.
Most other videos and photos of the event were removed.
The full cost of damages is still being evaluated, but Usov stated that over 2,000 square meters of bricks were damaged during the run — or over 20,000 square feet. Bykvu noted that Red Bull crews were later seen at the square trying to clean up the drift marks but that there were still marks left to clean up. Ukraine officials are also likely to bring charges of disorderly conduct against those involved in the incident.