Ukraine Removes Last Lenin Monument in Government-Controlled Areas

The last Vladimir Lenin monument located in Ukrainian government-controlled territory was dismantled in the village of Rudkivtsi, Khmelnytskyi region, as part of Ukraine's ongoing decommunization campaign aimed at removing Soviet-era symbols and diminishing historical ties with Russia. This removal, initiated by activists from the group 'Decolonization. Ukraine' and executed by local utility services, marks the symbolic end of Lenin statues in areas under Kyiv's control, though over 200 Lenin monuments remain in Russian-occupied territories such as Crimea, parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions. The Ukrainian decommunization laws passed since 2015 have banned communist symbols, parties, and renamed places bearing Soviet names, effectively reinforcing Ukraine's break from its Soviet and Russian past. Russian officials, including Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, criticized the demolition as part of Ukraine's aggressive campaign against monuments, suggesting it portrays the Kyiv government negatively, while Russian President Vladimir Putin linked the Soviet Union's collapse to Western ambitions and Soviet leaders' desires to join Western civilization. Ukrainian critics argue the removal reflects a broader political struggle over national identity amid the ongoing conflict with Russia, emphasizing that while Soviet symbols are disappearing in government-controlled areas, they persist in occupied regions under Russian influence.