The goal of winning hearts and minds is now an established part of modern warfare, though efforts are often misjudged. Such was the case in Donetsk, Ukraine on Sunday, when a PR stunt by rebel soldiers backfired.

The Washington Post reports that the rebel government staged a rally for children in a city square to protest killings by Ukraine’s army. Towards the end a white van arrived bearing sweets for the crowd which had been stolen from a nearby warehouse.

The mood quickly turned, however, when they noticed the branding on the boxes. The sweets were produced by Roshen, a company owned by Petro Poroshenko, a Ukrainian tycoon known as the ‘Chocolate King,’ who was recently elected president of Ukraine. Poroshenko is widely despised among rebel supporters, who blame him for much off the escalating violence in the country.

Those at the rally began to turn violent, with mothers destroying the boxes of sweets while yelling “the candy is poisoned!” and “no to blood candy!”

Rebel soldiers tried to reason with the crowd, with one shouting, “We wanted to give candy to children! That’s all! What difference does it make where it came from?”

But it was to no avail, and the van was forced to make a quick escape from the scene.