Today, September 22, in Odessa, public figure Demyan Hanul and head of the NGO "Green Leaf" Vladyslav Balinsky tried to dismantle the bas-relief of the Order of Lenin and the "Gold Star" medal from April 10 Square. However, the police reacted quickly and filed an administrative report against the men for petty hooliganism.
"This morning, my friends and I came to Lenin to finish what we started two weeks ago - dismantling the image of the Order of Lenin. The police arrived faster than a piece of metal could fall. But we all understand that dismantling is not inevitable, plus now these structures are dangerous for citizens," the activists said in a statement on Facebook.
Hanul and Balinsky have publicly called on local authorities to complete the dismantling of Soviet symbols on April 10 Square. This appeal resonates with recent statements by the head of the Odessa OVA, Oleg Kiper, who announced plans to demolish the monument to Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. This decision has caused controversy, as Odessa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov previously stated that the monument cannot be demolished due to its inclusion in the UNESCO register as part of the cultural heritage.
