PHOTO BY UNIAN, Sculpture: "The Girl with the Wheat Heads"

KYIV, UKRAINE - An act of vandalism was committed against the sculpture  "Bitter Memory of Childhood," better known as "The Girl with the Wheat Heads”, next to the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide in Kyiv. The incident occurred on the night of August 21-22, according to the report on the museum's website.

In a comment to BBC News Ukraine, the General Director of the Museum, Olesia Stasiuk, said that there were three perpetrators.

"At night, three unknown persons tore down the pedestal (sculpture from the pedestal - Ed.). Thank God, the monument itself is not damaged, because they could not lift it up, it is very heavy," she said.

PHOTO, HOLODOMOR MUSEUM: Pedestal on which until recently stood a sculpture of a "The Girl with the Wheat Heads"

According to her [Olesia Stasiuk] there is a clear indication that it was a well-planned action. "They distracted the guards under the guise of drunken persons," says Stasiuk, “It (the sculpture – Editorial) was very hard to tear down, they needed an automobile. That’s why it was for sure done not by drunken persons,” – the museum director is convinced.

"It was done deliberately. Moreover just before Independence Day, to demonstrate insult to the memory of the Ukrainian people," she added.

PHOTO, HOLODOMOR MUSEUM: Holodomor sculpture on the ground. Police are working at the scene.

According to her [Holodomor Museum director Olesia Stasiuk] , the sculpture was taken for restoration, the "girl" will return to the pedestal within a month.

FOOTNOTE:  "This act of vandalism against the Holodomor sculpture in Kyiv is horrible, despicable, outrageous and is a tragic cowardly act against the millions of Ukrainians who were starved to death, under Stalin's leadership, during the Holodomor, 1932-1933.  The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, should immediately speak out strongly against this act of desecration." In addition the Sculpture and the Holodomor Museum belong to the government of Ukraine, the people of Ukraine. Construction is underway to significantly expand the size of the Holodomor Museum, to be the largest museum in Ukraine, paid for by the government of Ukraine with support from private donors," stated Morgan Williams, Founder/Curator, "Holodomor: Through the Eyes of Ukrainian Artists" Collection, Washington, D.C.

LINK:   https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/features-53874692

LINK:   https://holodomormuseum.org.ua/news-museji/vandaly-namahalysia-zruinuvaty-skulpturu-pro-holodomor/