Two monuments immediately disappeared at night in Kherson: a bust of commander Alexander Suvorov and a monument to Admiral Fyodor Ushakov. In Ukrainian publics, it is assumed that they were taken with them by the Russian military during the evacuation.
On Monday morning, photos of empty pedestals appeared in local media and social networks.
The bust of Suvorov by the Russian sculptor Nikolai Rukavishnikov was donated to Kherson in 1950 by the Leningrad Museum named after the commander. The monument to Ushakov was opened in 1957 near the building of the Kherson State Maritime Academy along Ushakov Avenue.
Earlier, the editor-in-chief of the Russian Forward portal, Sergei Grigorov, called for the evacuation of monuments to Potemkin, Ushakov and Suvorov from Kherson, as well as museum exhibits, the most valuable books from libraries and the remains of Prince Grigory Potemkin-Tavrichesky. “I don’t know about the plans of the military command, whether it will leave Kherson or turn it into a fortress. But in any case, I consider it necessary in the event of leaving the city or in the event of fighting for the city, to carry out the evacuation of cultural property from Kherson, the preservation of which during this war many have forgotten, ”he wrote.
On October 19, the occupying authorities of Mariupol dismantled the memorial "To the Victims of the Holodomor", installed in the center of the city 18 years ago, explaining this by the fact that Ukrainians suffered the least during this period.