Protesters tear down Zhukov bust in Ukraine

Associated Press
Activists tear down a monument of Soviet Chief Marshal Georgiy Zhukov in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Sunday, June 2, 2019. The activists broke the monument to pieces as one of the last symbols of the Soviet era. (AP Photo/str)

MOSCOW (AP) — Protesters have torn down a towering bust of Soviet military hero Marshal Georgy Zhukov in Ukraine's second-largest city.

Destruction of the monument in Kharkiv on Sunday came amid protests by an array of far-right and nationalist groups against an organizing session for a new political party. The party is led by the mayors of Kharkiv and Odesa, both of whom were members of the party of Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russia president ousted amid bloody protests in 2014.

The protesters said the bust violated Ukraine's law banning Communist symbols. A crowd of hundreds cheered as protesters tugged on a cord around the bust and it toppled off a high plinth.

Zhukov commanded the Red Army forces in the final assault on Berlin in World War II.