Last year the existing monument to Soviet Army tankmen was pulled down, creating an uproar in the local community, with war veterans and NGOs voicing their concerns to the town mayor, Ihor Chudijovych.

In fact, no one wanted to pull the monument down. The authorities just planned to renovate the monument in the run-up to May 9 Victory Day in 2007. However, when workmen began to cover it with plaster, the base of the monument developed cracks. As the attempts to reinforce the base failed, the decision was taken to pull it down. At the time, the authorities promised to build a new monument – and kept their word.