"Occupants are not heroes": in Dnipro, activists demand to demolish the monument to the commander of the USSR Airborne Troops Margelov
Kyiv • UNN
In Dnipro, a civic organization of families of fallen Ukrainian soldiers demands that the monument to Soviet military leader Vasily Margelov be dismantled and a monument to the soldiers of the 25th Airborne Brigade who died in the war with Russia be erected.
The public organization of the families of fallen Ukrainian soldiers "Family Circle of Fallen Heroes" in Dnipro organized a rally demanding that the city authorities dismantle the monument to the commander of the USSR Airborne Troops Vasily Margelov and install a monument to the soldiers of the 25th Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who died in the war with Russia. This was reported by Radio Liberty, according to UNN.
Details
According to the newspaper, representatives of the Family Circle of Fallen Heroes, a civic organization of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, demand that Dnipro city authorities dismantle the monument to the commander of the USSR Airborne Forces, Vasily Margelov, and erect a monument to the soldiers of the 25th Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who died in the war with Russia.
In Soviet times, we lived with myths about Margelov. My son served in the Airborne Forces, and I know how they were "pumped up" with Margelov. Back then, his two sons would come to their brigade and say all these things: "we are together," "grandfathers fought," and so on. Time has passed, and the same Russian paratroopers trained by Vasya Margelov - look what they have done in Ukraine, the occupiers... And the monument to Margelov stands in the city center! We insist that it be dismantled, and a monument to our paratroopers, our defenders, be erected in its place
Vasyl Oliynyk, a participant in the action, also said that an appeal to the city council to dismantle the monument to Margelov was submitted in May 2022. It was signed by about two dozen public organizations in the region. They received no response from the city council. A new appeal is currently being prepared.
Radio Liberty had previously asked the city authorities to dismantle the monument, but they replied that there were no plans to demolish it.
For reference
Vasyl Margelov was born in the Dnipro region. He was the commander of the USSR Airborne Forces (1954-1959, 1961-1979), Hero of the USSR, and winner of the USSR State Prize (1975). It is known that Margelov took part in the Soviet occupation of European countries in the late 30s and early 40s of the twentieth century, including Finland, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and the suppression of the 1956 uprisings in Hungary and 1968 in Czechoslovakia, the participants of the event say.
Recall
The Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People (formerly known as the Arch of Friendship of Peoples) in Kyiv will not be demolished, as it is considered one of the capital's architectural landmarks.
