The diplomat called as questionable the allegations that bronze decorations were torn away by hunters for non-ferrous metals. “Who needs a piece of old iron? Look at the memorial, everything is in a deliberate and cynical disorder. It was a well-planned action by rightist radical forces aimed at desecrating the memory of Soviet Army officers,” the diplomat stressed.

Simultaneously, the diplomat says the local authorities stay away from preventing similar provocations and make the monuments to Soviet soldiers vulnerable to vandals and time. “There’s an agreement whereby Ukraine undertook a commitment to maintain the monuments in good order. The local authorities do little to protect and renovate the monuments,” the consul general said.

This situation will continue until politicians stop playing the anti-Russian card, he added.