Kyiv Dismantles Monument Honoring Centuries-Old Russian-Ukrainian Agreement

The monument to the Pereyaslav Agreement is the second Soviet-era monument to be dismantled and removed from under Kyiv's so-called Arch of the Ukrainian People. (file photo)

Kyiv authorities on April 30 started dismantling a monument honoring the Pereyaslav Agreement signed in 1654 at talks organized for the Ukrainian Cossack state’s ceremonial pledge of allegiance to the Russian tsar. The monument is located under the so-called Arch of the Ukrainian People (formerly the Arch of Peoples' Friendship). The monument to the Pereyaslav Agreement is the second Soviet-era monument to be dismantled and removed from under the arch. Kyiv officials took down the first one -- a monument symbolizing the reunification of Ukraine and Russia -- in April 2022, two months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, click here.