Ukraine takes down Soviet hammer and sickle from towering 100-meter ‘Motherland’ statue in the heart of Kyiv commemorating World War II in latest symbol of defiance against Putin

Ukraine has knocked down the Soviet hammer and sickle from a towering WWII memorial statue in the heart of Kiev, the last demonstration of defiance during Putin’s invasion.

Standing 100 meters tall and weighing some 560 tons, the ‘Motherland’ statue depicts an imposing woman – popularly known as ‘Baba’ or ‘Grandma’ – holding a shield and sword above her. head while she surveys the country’s capital with a proud look. , protective look.

Built in 1981, the incredible monument is the centerpiece of Ukraine’s National Museum of World War II and pays tribute to the millions of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians who gave their lives fighting Nazi Germany’s fearsome Wehrmacht.

But earlier this year, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture announced plans to remove the Soviet emblem from the shield of the Motherland and replace it with a trident – a national weapon that can be seen on the uniform of soldiers who fight tooth and nail fighting to recapture territory from the Russian occupiers.

Workers remove the coat of arms of the former Soviet Union from the Motherland Monument

Workers stand around hammer and sickle, part of a Soviet decal disassembled from the shield of the “Motherland” monument, amid the Russian attack on Ukraine, on a site of the WWII museum in Kyiv

Standing 100 meters tall and weighing some 560 tons, the ‘Motherland’ statue depicts an imposing and resilient woman – popularly known as ‘Baba’ or ‘Grandma’ – carrying a shield and sword. over her head as she overlooks the nation’s capital

Built in 1981, the incredible monument is the centerpiece of Ukraine’s National Museum of World War II

The move is part of a lengthy “dismantling campaign” dating back to 2015, just a year after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.

Kiev officials at the time placed a ban on the further use of Soviet terms or symbols in the construction of new monuments, cultural projects or even the naming of new roads and streets.

The idea of ​​replacing the instantly recognizable Soviet hammer and sickle on the shield of the Motherland Monument was first floated by Volodymyr Viatrovych, the director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, in 2017, but nothing came of it.

That is, however, until May 2022, when the Ministry of Culture revived the plans following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops and tanks across the border two months early.

In a press release published on July 13 — the day the removal of the Soviet symbol first began — urban planning agency DIAM claimed that from a poll of 800,000 Ukrainian citizens, an overwhelming majority of 85 percent supported the decision to raise the hammer. replace and sickle with the trident of Ukraine.

Stunning footage showed workers being lifted hundreds of feet into the air by crane and moving inch by inch to the statue’s shield, where they began dismantling the equipment and moving it away from the metal latticework below.

Later, workers were seen in a circle looking down at the iconic Soviet decal that lay on the floor of the National WWII Museum after its removal.

Workers remove the Soviet coat of arms from the Motherland monument in Kiev, Ukraine on August 1, 2023

A view of the Motherland memorial with partially removed Soviet shield on August 1, 2023

Part of the Soviet symbols, which were removed from the shield of the Motherland Monument

A general view shows the “Motherland” monument during the disassembly of a Soviet decal from its shield, amid the Russian attack on Ukraine, on a site of the World War II Museum in Kiev, Ukraine August 1, 2023

In a social media post, museum director Yury Savchuk shared an excerpt of the work, writing: “This is the moment millions of Ukrainians, generations of Ukrainians have dreamed of…

“This is the moment when we dismantle the empire – the symbol of the Soviet Union – and open a new perspective not only of the beautiful landscape of the Dnieper, but also of a new life in a free family of European nations.”

The project to replace the shield will cost 28 million hryvnias ($758,000), though Ukrainian officials insist it will be paid for by corporate donations, not state funds.

The arts minister who had supported the project resigned last month over official criticism of the cost of wartime art projects.