Ukraine ends friendship with Russia, destroys decades-old statue in Kyiv

Ukrainian authorities dismantled a huge Soviet-era monument in the centre of Kyiv meant to symbolise friendship between Russia and Ukraine, a response to Moscow's invasion. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, launched on February 24, has left thousands dead or injured, reduced towns and cities to rubble, and forced more than 5 million people to flee abroad.

Ukrainian authorities dismantled a huge Soviet-era monument in the centre of Kyiv meant to symbolise friendship between Russia and Ukraine, a response to Moscow's invasion. Credit: AFP Photo

The eight-metre (27-ft) bronze statue depicted a Ukrainian and Russian worker on a plinth, holding aloft together a Soviet order of friendship. Credit: Reuters Photo

The statue was located underneath a giant titanium 'People's Friendship Arch', erected in 1982 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Union. Credit: Reuters Photo

Workmen started by removing one of the two bronze heads, which fell to the ground with a hollow clang. Credit: AFP Photo

As a crane lifted the monument off its moorings and gradually lowered it to the ground, a crowd of around 100 people cheered and shouted

Russia's invasion of Ukraine, launched on February 24, has left thousands dead or injured, reduced towns and cities to rubble, and forced more than 5 million people to flee abroad. Credit: AFP Photo