The Ukrainian group which protests outside the Russian embassy has conceded a possum was thrown into the diplomatic compound.
It condemned the incident, saying it should not have happened but that it paled into insignificance compared to what the Russians were doing in Ukraine.
"It was unfortunate that someone let their passion get carried away," said Marusya Jacyshyn, one of the coordinators of Friends of Ukraine.
She was responding to an allegation made by the Russian ambassador to Australia that a dead possum was thrown into the embassy grounds on Canberra Avenue.
"A couple of weeks ago, one of those guys who are paid to stage pro-Ukrainian rallies off our compound in Canberra Avenue, choosing a moment when police were not around, threw a dead possum body over the fence to the embassy territory," Ambassador Aleksey Pavlovsky said.
Ms Jacyshyn said she had not witnessed the possum incident herself but accepted it had happened.
She said protesters would be reminded this was unacceptable and high standards should be maintained. She also denied the protesters were being paid to be there.
"I'll remind people just to take a deep breath. I understand people's passion but it's counterproductive."
She said the throwing of the possum was small compared with the actions of Russian forces in Ukraine.
"He should be horrified by other things as well," she said.
"If the Russian ambassador is horrified by the possum, he should look at the animals killed in Kakhovka dam disaster on June 6."
On that date, the dam was destroyed in the early hours. The destruction, apparently by explosions, caused flooding across wide areas of villages and farmland.
Russia denied being behind the attack but other countries have said the evidence of its involvement is clear.
"The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam in Kherson - the most significant incident of damage to civilian infrastructure since the start of the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine," the United Nations said.
Friends of Ukraine in Canberra have been raising money for the victims of destruction of the dam which has left swathes of farm land unproductive.
The group protests outside the Russian embassy on Saturdays. It is planning a special protest on July 15 to mark the ninth anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 with the deaths of 15 crew and 283 passengers, mostly from Australia and Holland.
Prayers will be said. There will be speeches and a minute's silence.
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