About 100 Monuments To Soviet Forces Removed In Poland Since 2014 - Russian Ambassador

PIENIEZNO (Poland) (UrduPoint news / Sputnik - 17th February, 2019) About 100 monuments to Soviet soldiers killed in World War II have been demolished in Poland in recent years, Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreev told reporters on Sunday.

On Sunday, Russian diplomats honored the memory of Soviet Gen. Ivan Chernyakhovsky at the site of his death near the town of Pieniezno in northern Poland. The monument to Chernyakhovsky, which used to stand at the site, was removed by the Polish authorities in 2015.

"According to our data, [the Polish authorities] have dismantled about 100 monuments since 2014," the ambassador said, adding that more than 100 monuments to Soviet soldiers remain in Poland.

Andreev reaffirmed the Russian government's position that monuments to Soviet soldiers should not be removed.

"It makes sense for a monument to be erected at the site of the event, at the place where the feat was accomplished, where people sacrificed their lives," the diplomat said.

In 2017, Poland passed a so-called de-communization law, which opened the path for dismantling Soviet army monuments in the country. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov views the step as the launch of an anti-Russian campaign in the country, adding that Warsaw blamed every possible problem on Moscow.