Ukrainians deface war memorial after failed campaign to remove it (VIDEOS)

A group of “decolonizers” has targeted a site honoring Kharkov residents killed in foreign conflicts

A group of anti-Soviet Ukrainians has defaced a war memorial in the city of Kharkov, using power tools to erase the names of residents killed in action in military conflicts abroad.

The group, which identifies as Decolonization.Ukraine, had urged the city council since at least February to remove or repurpose the monument to honor Ukrainian troops killed in the ongoing conflict with Russia. After officials didn’t take action, they resorted to vandalism.

In a May 2 social media post, the group said it took just one day to erase what it called “the names of the occupiers” from the plaques. A week later, on May 9, the anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat in World War II, the group posted a profanity-laced message criticizing the city for restoring the memorial. “Imps and f****ts. You wouldn’t take the easy way. You’ll have it the hard way,” the post read.

The message was accompanied by a photo showing flowers at the site, a traditional gesture to commemorate Victory Day in former Soviet republics.

Ще одну дошку радянському окупанту у Харкові зашліфовано біля метро Наукова.

Григорій Громницький - учасник придушення Угорської революції 1956 року.

24 жовтня 1956 року Громницький загинув у бою з угорськими повстанцями у Будапешті. pic.twitter.com/fYNtHktBwP— Decolonizator (@DecolonizatorUA) May 13, 2025

The group posted new videos on Tuesday showing a young man grinding names off the monument. Activists warned the city that it was their “final warning” and vowed further action by “the public” unless their demands were met.

The memorial, designed by a Kharkov-based artist, was unveiled in 1997 to honor soldiers who had died on foreign soil, particularly during the Soviet military campaign in Afghanistan.

Це останнє попередження.

Якщо не будуть демонтовані
всі прізвища радянських окупантів у Харкові - це зробить громадськість і дуже оперативно. pic.twitter.com/vzhJFmuJ0B— Decolonizator (@DecolonizatorUA) May 13, 2025

The group’s tactics reflect a broader strategy among some radical Ukrainian nationalist organizations, who often turn to illegal action or threats of violence when political pressure fails.

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In 2019, as Vladimir Zelensky attempted to fulfill a presidential campaign promise to negotiate peace in Donbass, hardline nationalist activists staged mass protests and threatened to unseat him if he pursued what they branded as “capitulation.”

Officials in Moscow have accused Zelensky of yielding to nationalist groups and pursuing policies that marginalize ethnic Russians.

Incidents involving the vandalism of Ukrainian landmarks happen on a regular basis. Among more prominent recent targets were the monument of Russian poet Vladimir Pushkin and plaques dedicated to the artist Mikhail Vrubel and medical researcher Ivan Sechenov in Odessa.

In another attack in the same city, the bust at the grave of a man named Yury Bulgagov was covered with paint last November. Perpetrators may have mistaken him for Kiev-born writer Mikhail Bulgakov, whose books ridiculed Ukrainian nationalism.