Soviet-Ukrainian Friendship Monument Demolished, Kyiv Mayor: Has A Different Meaning

JAKARTA - Ukrainian authorities dismantled a huge Soviet-era monument in central Kyiv City, which was originally meant to symbolize friendship between Russia and Ukraine, Tuesday.

Kyiv mayor and former heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko said the demolition was in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The eight-meter-high (27-foot) bronze statue depicts a Ukrainian and Russian worker on a pedestal, holding aloft the order of Soviet friendship.

The statue sits beneath the giant titanium 'Arch of Friendship of the People', which was erected in 1982 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Union.

"We are now seeing what this 'friendship' is all about, the destruction of Ukrainian cities, killing tens of thousands of peaceful people. I believe such monuments have a completely different meaning now," said the mayor of Kyiv.

Mayor Klitschko added that the arch would remain in place but was renamed the Arch of Freedom of the Peoples of Ukraine.

The workers began by releasing one of the two bronze heads, which fell to the ground with a clang of holes.

As the crane lifted the monument from its mooring and gradually lowered it to the ground, a crowd of about 100 cheered and chanted 'Glory to Ukraine' and other slogans.

"Russia invaded Ukraine. Can we be friends with Russia? What do you think? This is our worst enemy, that's why the monument to Russian-Ukrainian friendship makes no sense anymore," said Serhiy Myrhorodsky, one of them.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, launched on February 24, has left thousands dead or injured, cities reduced to rubble, and forced more than 5 million people to flee abroad.

Moscow called its actions a 'special operation' to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists.

"We should have no relationship with the aggressor state, no friendship, no relationship, nothing," said Diana, a young woman, who did not give her full name.