A worker sweeps the pedestal of Catherine's II monument after removing the protective fences and before the demolition of the monument. Ukraine dismantles statue of hailed Russian empress Catherine the Great who invaded Crimea nearly 250 years before Vladimir Putin ordered his troops over the border. This followed a public vote where a majority of Ukrainian voters () supported the dismantling. The statue was erected in 1900 in Odessa to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the city's founding.

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Size: 3250px × 2166px
Photo credit: © SOPA Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, 2, catherine, conflict, dismantle, dismantling, great, ii, invasion, monument, pedestal, russia, russian, sculpture, statue, statues, sweep, sweeping, ukraine, worker