A small group of activists projected images of the Ukrainian flag across the facade of the Russian Embassy in Northwest Washington on Wednesday night, and Russian officials appeared to try to counter with a bright white spotlight of their own.

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       The activists, armed with a bank of 14 theater stage lights, beamed the images from across the street onto the building, at 2650 Wisconsin Ave. NW. The effort was weeks in the making to secure donations of the lights and determine the specifications necessary to project the images from such a distance, said Benjamin Wittes, the editor in chief of Lawfare and a former Washington Post opinion writer.

       “It was the most invasive, obtrusive, obnoxious thing that I could do to Russian diplomats that does not molest or do violence to their prerogatives as diplomats in the United States,” Wittes said during one of several live feeds of the event. “I don’t want to make it comfortable to be a Russian diplomat in the United States right now.”

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       Wittes said the gesture was aimed at showing solidarity with refugees who lost their homes in Ukraine and those who have been killed during the war.

       “The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a dramatic violence to the international order,” Wittes said as the live feed stretched into early Thursday morning. “I’m old fashioned. I don’t believe in murdering civilians. I don’t think these are radical positions.” Later, he added: “We certainly invite Ukrainian Embassy staff to join us.”

       Lisa Lednicer contributed to this report.