Removal of Lenin statue in Kramatorsk act of 'vandalism' - admin
KYIV. April 17 (Interfax) - An incident on Friday in which a monument to Lenin on the central square of Kramatorsk, the administrative center of the Kyiv-controlled part of Donetsk region, was knocked off its pedestal is "an act of vandalism," the Donetsk Military and Regional Administration said.
"A proposal for the transfer of the monument to Lenin from the central square of the city to Lenin Park was put on the agenda for the 48th session of the Kramatorsk City Council, planned for April 22 of this year. Therefore today's incident with the monument is qualified as an act of vandalism," the administration said in a statement.
The removal of the statue "may be used by anti-Ukrainian forces to exacerbate the situation in the region," it said. "Law enforcement agencies are investigating the incident."
A blue-and yellow Ukrainian flag and a red-and-black nationalist flag were installed on the pedestal after the removal of the statue. Local media attribute the removal of the monument to the city branch of the nationalist Svoboda party.