The dismantling of the monument to the Russian empress Catherine II was completed in Odesa.
This was reported by the head of the Odesa military administration Maksym Marchenko.
"A truly historic event took place today. Finally, the monument to the Russian empress Catherine in Odesa was dismantled. I thank the residents of Odesa, who expressed their position that Russian imperial heritage has no place in modern, legal, democratic Ukraine," he wrote in Telegram.
Dismantling began on Wednesday, December 28. The city council of Odesa reported that the monument will be transferred to the art museum.
- On July 12, a petition entitled "In Odesa, replace the monument to Catherine II with a monument to the American actor Billy Herrington" gathered 25 000 signatures. According to the law, after that, within 3 months from the day of its publication, the president had to consider it.
- On July 13, another petition on the presidentʼs website about the demolition of the monument to Russian empress Catherine II in Odesa received 25 000 votes.
- On August 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to a petition to replace the monument to Russian Empress Catherine II in Odesa with a monument to American gay porn actor Billy Herrington. He asked the Odesa City Council to consider the issues raised in the petition.
- On November 30, the Odesa City Council decided to dismantle the monument to Russian empress Catherine II.