Recently in Ukraine’s Lvov region, two monuments dedicated to Soviet soldiers were removed. This information came from the Telegram channel Decolonization Ukraine, which shared video footage of the demolitions.
According to posts on that channel, the monuments in the villages of Mlyniska and Berezhnitsa, located in the Stryi district of Lviv region, were taken down. The channel also published clips showing the destruction of these monuments.
Earlier in the year, around May 24, reports emerged from western Ukraine that five monuments to Soviet soldiers had been dismantled across Zakarpattia and Lviv regions.
In Perechyn, a city in the Transcarpathian region, and in the nearby villages of Znyatsevo and Chervenevo, three monuments were removed. An additional two monuments were dismantled in the villages of Verkhnyaya Belka and Podbereztsy in the Lviv region.
On May 3, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved legislation aimed at simplifying the process of dismantling monuments and other structures tied to the Russian Federation and the USSR. This move aligns with ongoing efforts to address historical symbols and memory in public spaces.
Parliamentary amendments to the law On the Protection of Cultural Heritage formalized the approach to removing or renaming sites connected to Soviet and Russian history. Since 2015, Ukraine has initiated broader changes that include dismantling monuments and renaming streets as part of a broader national reimagining of public space and history.
Observers note that the dismantling activity has varied by locality, with some communities engaging in rapid removals while others have pursued more gradual changes. Debates surrounding these actions reflect tensions between preserving historical memory and redefining national identity in the post-Soviet space. The process continues to evolve as regional authorities interpret national policy in ways that fit local contexts and historical narratives. [Citation: Decolonization Ukraine Telegram channel and related regional reports]