Zelensky appealed to the Odessa City Council about the demolition of the monument to Catherine II/Office of the President

In Odessa, they want to demolish the monument to the Russian Empress Catherine II. President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the petition of a caring Ukrainian.

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The petition for the demolition of the monument was registered on the website of the Office of the President Alexei Matveev. In about 2 months, she collected almost 26.5 thousand votes.

Zelensky responded to the petition to demolish the monument to Catherine II

In the petition, Matveev proposed demolish the monument to Catherine II in Odessa and instead erect a monument to the American actor Billy Herrington, who will sit at the bar with a bottle of beer.

“Catherine II is a controversial historical figure who by her actions caused great harm to Ukrainian statehood and culture. The fact of establishing this monument was a terrible mistake, and every day of its further existence signals that Odessa is in the zone Russian cultural influence. It's time to change that,” the petition reads.

Matveev noted that the replacement of the monument will not only indicate that Odessa is not some provincial town of the Russian Empire, but it will also show the good sense of humor of the townspeople and arouse the approval of young people.

The petition received the required number of votes, so it was submitted to the president for consideration. Zelensky noted that state authorities and local self-government bodies are obliged to act only in accordance with the Constitution and legislation. By decree of the Cabinet of Ministers, monuments that are erected to perpetuate events or the memory of figures can be of state or local significance.

The decision to erect monuments of national importance is made by the Cabinet of Ministers, and local ones by local executive authorities or self-government. Zelensky said that the Odessa City Council decided to install a monument to Catherine II in 2007. He allegedly was supposed to help in “reproducing the historical appearance of Catherine's Square”.

Considering the above and taking into account the norms of the Law of Ukraine “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine”, I turned to the Odessa City Council with a request to consider the issues raised in the petition in accordance with the competence,” the head of state noted.

The President summed up that he also noted in a letter to the Odessa City Hall the importance of:

• protection of national interests ,
• studying the issues of clearing public space of objects and monuments related to the Russian imperial and Soviet heritage.

They only reinforce Russian anti-Ukrainian propaganda narratives in Ukraine.