Ukrainian activists disfigure war memorial

(MENAFN) An anti-Soviet group in Kharkov, known as Decolonization.Ukraine, has defaced a local war memorial by grinding off the names of fallen soldiers commemorated on the monument. The activists, who had been pressuring the city council since February to remove or alter the structure to instead honor modern Ukrainian troops killed in the ongoing conflict with Russia, took matters into their own hands after officials failed to act.

On May 2, the group posted online that they erased what they referred to as “occupiers' names” from the memorial plaques in a single day. A week later, on May 9 — Victory Day, marking Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II — the group shared a profanity-filled message condemning the city for restoring the monument and warning of future action.

New footage shared by the group showed a young man using a power tool to deface the names once again. The activists called this their “final warning,” threatening further acts unless their demands are addressed.

The monument, created by a Kharkov artist and unveiled in 1997, honors soldiers who died in foreign conflicts, particularly during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. The actions of Decolonization.Ukraine align with more radical elements within Ukrainian nationalist circles, who have been known to use illegal tactics and threats when political efforts fail.

This kind of vandalism has become increasingly common. Recent targets include statues and plaques dedicated to Russian cultural and historical figures such as poet Alexander Pushkin, artist Mikhail Vrubel, and physician Ivan Sechenov in Odessa. In another case, a bust on the grave of Yury Bulgagov was defaced — apparently mistaken for the famous writer Mikhail Bulgakov, whose work often mocked Ukrainian nationalism.

Moscow has criticized Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky for allegedly giving in to nationalist pressures and enacting policies that discriminate against ethnic Russians.

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