The director of a Russian cultural office in Ukraine's capital has been drenched with a bucketful of green antiseptic liquid mixed with feces. A Ukrainian nationalist group wanted to send him a message.

The assault took place Wednesday as Konstantin Vorobiev left home to lay flowers at a World War II memorial. Much of the former Soviet Union commemorates May 9 as Victory Day to mark the Red Army's 1945 seizure of Berlin.

Vorobiev heads the Kiev office of Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian state organization that promotes science and culture. The antiseptic he was doused with, known as "zelenka," is frequently used in protests and hooligan attacks.

Serhiy Masur of Ukraine's C14 nationalist organization said: "We wanted to stop him celebrating and meeting his Russian friends."

Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces are engaged in a long-running conflict.