Ukraine replaces Soviet coat of arms with trident on towering Kyiv landmark
Ukraine has replaced the Soviet emblem that once adorned one of the nation’s most recognizable landmarks with the country’s coat of arms
By The Associated Press
Published - Aug 06, 2023, 12:52 PM ET
Last Updated - Aug 06, 2023, 12:52 PM EDT
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has replaced the Soviet emblem that once adorned one of the nation’s most recognizable landmarks with the country’s coat of arms.
The symbolic move is part of a wider shift throughout Ukraine to reclaim the country’s cultural identity from the Soviet past amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.
Erected in 1981 as part of a larger complex housing Ukraine’s national World War II museum, the Mother Ukraine monument stood on the right bank of the Dnipro River in Kyiv, facing eastwards toward Moscow.
Created in the image of a fearless female warrior, the 200-foot-tall (61-meter-tall) statue previously held a sword and a shield emblazoned with the Soviet coat of arms: a crossed hammer and sickle surrounded by ears of wheat.
