Statue of Russian writer Alexander Pushkin taken down in Mykolaiv.

The mayor of the city, Oleksandr Senkevych, said the monument was taken down to avoid vandalism, and a decision on what to do with it will be made after the war is over. Since Russia launched the ongoing large-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Ukraine has witnessed "derussification" - the dismantlement of some momuments to Russians and the renaming of some streets named after Russians.