KIEV, November 16. /TASS/. A monument to Russia-Ukraine friendship unveiled in 2003 has been dismantled in the northeast Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, local media reported on Monday. It was spray-painted red in May and has now been taken down by local communal workers.

Authorities in Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, have also repeatedly called for dismantling of an arch celebrating inter-state friendship. This was unveiled in 1982 when the Soviet Union celebrated the 60th anniversary of its foundation.