PGO says blowing up of monument to Stalin in Zaporizhia was terrorist act

The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has recategorized the blowing up of the monument to Soviet-era dictator Joseph Stalin in Zaporizhia on the evening of December 31, 2010 as a terrorist act rather than the intentional destruction of property. The investigation has been handed over to the Security Service of Ukraine.

The PGO's press service reported on Wednesday that an analysis of the materials of the criminal case showed that the blast could have killed or injured people and was aimed at threatening public safety and frightening the residents of the city. In connection with this, Zaporizhia Regional Prosecutor's Office recategorized the actions of the unidentified perpetrators under Part 2 of Article 258 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (act of terrorism).

The investigatory department of the SBU Department in Zaporizhia region was charged with the investigation into the case. The regional prosecutor's office is to supervise the course of the investigation.

As reported, unidentified people blew up a monument to Stalin at around 2330 on December 31 in Zaporizhia on the territory of the regional committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine. The blast of an improvised explosive device completely demolished the monument and damaged the Communist Party regional committee's building. The Communist Party members evaluated the material damage caused by the blast at over UAH 230,000. The police opened a criminal case under Part 2, Article 194 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (the deliberate destruction of property by fire, explosives or in any other dangerous way).