18:47 03.06.2019

Zhukov monument demolition in Kharkiv result of ill-conceived humanitarian policy

2 min read
Zhukov monument demolition in Kharkiv result of ill-conceived humanitarian policy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the authorities of Kharkiv, where activists had demolished a monument to Soviet marshal Georgy Zhukov on Sunday, to look into the conflict of law dealing with the fact that there is an exclusion for the monuments to the Soviet figures, who had fought against the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, from the law on decommunization, Yulia Mendel, the president's spokesperson, said.

"The law on decommunization envisages that, naturally, the monuments to the Soviet figures must be demolished. But at the same time it includes the provisions saying that if those Soviet figures were involved in the resistance to the Nazi occupation, they are exceptions. It applies not only to the monument to Zhukov, but also to Zhukov Alley, which exists," she said at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday.

This situation is an example of a flawed and ill-conceived humanitarian policy, which has continued for the past few years, she said.

"And it shows that the new mechanism to establish a dialogue between the authorities and the society must be developed," Mendel said.

In order to address such matters of dispute, discussions with the public are necessary and the decision that meets the needs of all parties as much as possible must be adopted, the presidential spokesperson said.

President Zelensky views the statements made by Russian officials regarding this situation as yet another indicator of "interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state and urges to refrain from doing that again," Mendel said.

On Sunday, Ukrainian nationalists topped the Zhukov bust near the Sports Palace building in Kharkiv and placed the national flag of Ukraine on its pedestal. Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes said that the monument would be restored at the expense of the charity fund Revival set u

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