Monument to Russian soldier, who killed civilians, appears in Mariupol

This was reported by the Mariupol City Council.

It is about the Russian soldier from Irkutsk, Eduard Dyakonov, who died in Mariupol. He took part in the capture of the city and the killing of civilians. The monument to the occupier was erected on one of the sections of Myru Avenue, where the Russians are making a "heroes' alley".

"Now the invaders are trying to make a 'hero' out of the murderer and impose this on the people of Mariupol who survived the Russian attacks. Every family has dead relatives, friends and colleagues. At the same time, the occupiers are trying to Russify the occupied Mariupol as much as possible and destroy everything that reminds us of its belonging to Ukraine," the statement said.

The city council reminded that the occupiers had already dismantled the monument to the Holodomor victims and defenders of Ukraine and destroyed all the murals.

"Instead, they are installing memorials to the murderers and are already conducting a survey on monuments to Lenin, Stalin and Catherine II," the statement said.

• In April, the Russian invaders destroyed a memorial sign in the temporarily occupied Mariupol, which was erected in honour of the 500th anniversary of the Ukrainian Cossacks.
• Also in October 2022, the occupiers in Mariupol dismantled a monument to the victims of the Holodomor, claiming that it was "political disinformation of the population".