The owner of the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People (formerly the Arch of Friendship of Peoples) is the territorial community of Kyiv, and the authorized owner is the Department of Culture of the executive body of the Kyiv City Council (KCSA). The Department of Monument Protection of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy informed UNN journalist in response to a request.
Details
The Department of Monument Protection reminded that the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People (Arch of Friendship of Peoples) in Kyiv is no longer a monumentand can therefore be dismantled.
"...The Arch of Friendship of Peoples (the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People) does not have the status of a monument, but still remains property that has an owner. According to the information provided to the ICIP, the owner of the Arch is the territorial community of Kyiv, and the authorized owner is the Department of Culture of the executive body of the Kyiv City Council (Kyiv City State Administration). In view of this, the further fate of the object, including its dismantling, should be decided by the owner. The permission of the Ministry of Culture is no longer required," was the response to the request.
Context
The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance previously statedthat the Arch of Friendship of Peoples in Kyiv symbolizes Russia's imperial policy and should be dismantled.
Subsequently, the UINP explainedthat the expert commission only made a decision on the need to dismantle the Arch of Friendship of Peoples, and the implementation of this decision and the consideration of the advice of the UINP expert commission depends on the city authorities and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine has decidedthat the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People (Arch of Friendship of Peoples) in Kyiv is no longer a monument and can be dismantled.
And the KCSA Department of Culture stated earlier that during a full-scale war, spending significant funds from the city budget to dismantle the Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People (Arch of Friendship of Peoples) is not the most urgent issue.