Kyiv, April 26 (Reuters) – Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday dismantled a huge Soviet-era monument in central Kyiv to symbolize Russia-Ukraine friendship in response to Moscow’s invasion, according to the city’s mayor.
The eight-meter (27-foot) bronze statue depicts a Ukrainian and Russian plinth worker holding up a Soviet Order of Friendship. The statue was located under a giant titanium arch of the People’s Friendship, erected in 1982 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Union.
“Now we see what this ‘friendship’ is – the destruction of Ukrainian cities … the killing of tens of thousands of civilians. I am convinced that such a monument now has a completely different meaning,” said Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.
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The workers began by removing one of the two bronze heads, which fell to the ground with a hollow sound.
As a crane lifted the monument from its collars and gradually lowered it to the ground, a crowd of about 100 people applauded and shouted “Glory to Ukraine” and other slogans.
“Russia has invaded Ukraine … Can we be friends with Russia? What do you think? This is our biggest enemy, so the monument to Russian-Ukrainian friendship no longer makes sense,” said Sergei Mirgorodsky, one of the designers.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 left thousands dead or wounded, turning cities into ruins and forcing more than 5 million people to flee abroad.
Moscow called its actions a “special operation” to disarm Ukraine and protect it from the Nazis.
“We should not have any relationship with the aggressor nation … no friendship, no relationship, nothing,” said the young woman, Diana, who did not give her full name.
Klitschko said the arch would remain in place, but would be renamed the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People.
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Written by Mark Porter and David Ljunggren, edited by Rosalba O’Brien
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