Monument to Gogol in Kharkov overlaid with sandbags

Kharkiv public utilities closed the monument to Alexander Pushkin with sandbags, as reported by local media. This measure is aimed at protecting the monument from fragments falling into it as a result of possible shelling.

According to Yuriy Sidorenko, director of the Kharkiv city council’s public relations department, bags were placed around the monument to protect it from vandalism. At the same time, what is happening, according to him, is fully consistent with both Ukrainian legislation and the recommendations of the Institute of National Remembrance.

In a publication on social networks, he stressed that the bust has the status of a monument of national importance, so the issue of its transfer should be decided by the government.