At the trial, Vadim explained that he was walking down the street in the evening and saw a flag on a column of a building at arm's length. He pulled the mounting bracket and tore off the flag from the pole, and then, seeing that it was the flag of the Republic of Belarus, he threw it to the ground. When he started to walk away, he touched the shaft with his foot to push it away and not step on it. He explained the reason for his actions as alcohol intoxication.
On September 14, 2023, the police found Kovalev’s body without signs of life in one of the Riga parks. The circumstances of the death are unclear and police are investigating.
