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- Ukrainian vigilantes are tearing down Russian statues and landmarks in their cities.
- Activists told The Washington Post they want to "de-Russify" and "decolonize" Ukraine.
- Zelenskyy signed two laws last month to promote Ukrainian language and culture over that of Russia.
Ukrainian vigilantes are tearing down Russian symbols, statues, and landmarks in the middle of the night to "decolonize" their cities. They say its the latest effort to resist the "Russification" of their country.
The activists — operating under umbrella organizations such as Decolonize Ukraine — are recording the locations of Russian iconography across big cities and small towns, according to The Washington Post. They send these locations to Telegram channels, where thousands of members arrange to deface or destroy the landmarks, many of which are remnants of Ukraine's Soviet history.
Oleg Slabospitsky, a Kyiv-based activist, told the Post: "I'll be satisfied when everything is removed."
The Post reported that these efforts range from Russian language on street signs and public art to Soviet symbols and statues dedicated to Russian soldiers.
While it's a more scorched-earth approach than what Ukraine's local governments have supported, the Post said, it's not coming out of nowhere.
Kyiv began removing Soviet-era monuments long before Russia's invasion, Reuters previously reported, and those efforts have increased in the last year. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has taken a firm stance on the issue, signing two laws last month banning Russian place names and requiring use of Ukrainian language and knowledge of Ukrainian history and culture, The New York Times said.
The "Russification" of Ukraine — and Russian President Vladimir Putin's bogus claim that his invasion of Ukraine is to promote the "de-Nazification" of the country — has been a hot button issue. Russian authorities in occupied Ukraine recently forced Ukrainians to get Russian passports and or be deported, which intel suggested was an effort to further "Russify" the country, but some locals have resisted these efforts.