KIEV, May 12. /TASS/. The authorities of the Chernigov region have begun the procedure of dismantling the Three Sisters monument, located on the border of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, the Chernigov regional administration reported on Thursday.

"The liquidation procedure of the Three Sisters monument in Senkovka (a village in the Chernigov region, located near the Russia, Belarus and Ukraine tripoint - TASS) has begun. The regional administration will prepare a package of documents to deregister <...> the monument in Senkovka, dedicated to the friendship of the peoples of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus," the message on the region’s administration Facebook page (a social media site banned in Russia since it is owned by Meta corporation deemed extremist by Russian authorities) said.

It is specified that the documents will be sent to Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Information Policy. "After the removal of the monument from the records, this construction can be dismantled", the local authorities said.

The Three Sisters monument at the Russia, Belarus and Ukraine tripoint was opened on May 3, 1975 and symbolizes the friendship of peoples. The main composition consists of three pylons, each with a coat of arms of one of the republics. White pylons are surrounded by a bronze ring with bas-reliefs depicting scenes from common history.

On April 26, the sculpture of two workers, a Ukrainian and a Russian, which is one of the elements of the People's Friendship Arch, was dismantled in Kiev. The authorities are going to dismantle the second sculpture, depicting Pereyaslavska Rada, an assembly of Zaporozhian Cossacks headed by hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky in 1654, during which the decision on joining the Zaporozhye army with the Russian Kingdom was made. The only element of the monument that has not been touched is the arch of titanium plates, which towers over the entire composition. It is made in the form of a rainbow, and according to the authors, it symbolizes the unity of the Ukrainians and Russians. However, the mayor of the capital Vitaly Klitschko suggests that it should be renamed the Freedom Arch of the Ukrainian people.