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Four monuments to Soviet soldiers removed in western Ukraine in past day

Overall, 123 monuments were reportedly removed in the region since early 2023

MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Four monuments to Soviet soldiers have been dismantled in western Ukraine’s Lvov Region in the past 24 hours, according to statements and video of the monuments toppling posted on a Telegram channel.

The Decolonization. Ukraine channel said monuments in Buyanov, Lipovtsy, Lopushanka and Pomoryany had been removed. Two similar monuments were dismantled in the region a day earlier.

On Monday, the military administration of the Lvov Region reported that 21 Soviet monuments had been demolished in six districts in the past two weeks. Overall, 123 monuments were removed in the region since early 2023, the administration said.

On July 1, Lvov Region Governor Maxim Kozitsky announced plans to topple all Soviet-era monuments by the end of this year.

Ukraine has been dismantling Soviet and Russian monuments since 2015 when the law on the so-called de-communization was adopted in the country. By early 2022, more than 2,500 monuments were toppled, with over 900 localities and some 50,000 streets renamed. According to the Ukrainian Culture Ministry, 28 monuments to great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, nine monuments to writer Maxim Gorky, four monuments to Russian military commander Alexander Suvorov and just as many to writer Nikolay Ostrovsky were demolished in Ukraine in the past year. Also, more than 20 monuments to Soviet soldiers were dismantled.

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