The statue of founder of the Soviet state Vladimir Lenin was toppled in Ukraine's capital by anti-government protestors voicing their disapproval of current President Viktor Yanukovich's decision to tighten ties with Russia on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Many protesters attacked the fallen statue in Kiev with hammers and some even took pieces of the statue with them, according to Reuters.
The toppling of the statue came after leaders of the opposition told thousands of protesters at the Kiev Independence Square to keep pressure on President Yanukovich to move away from economic ties with Russia and towards a European Union, Reuters reported.
According to Reuters, the protests became more tense after the Ukranian government announced last month to end the pact with Europe, and strengthen ties with Moscow, which acts like Ukraine's Soviet-era overlor.
The change in plans by the government has led to the biggest protests since the 2004-5 Orange Revolution, when protesters forced a re-election of a fake election and kept Yanukovich from running, Reuters reported.
A poster where Lenin's statue used to stands reads: "Yanukovich, you are next!," according to Reuters.
President Yanukovich met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, and protesters fear this could be a move towards a Moscow-led customs union similar to that of the Soviet Union, Reuters reported.
Although the toppling of the Lenin statue occurred shortly after the speech given by opposition leaders, the opposition has denied any involvement of its removal and have expressed concern that any link to the incident could harm their cause, Reuters reported.
Mykola Azarov, a spokesman for Ukrainian Prime Minister, called the toppling of the statue "barbarism," according to the Interfax News Agency.
The protestors have also put up roadblocks around Independence Square, which has now been transformed into a squatting area with tents. The protestors are currently living off donations of food and clothes, Reuters reported.
Main buildings around the Square have also been occupied by the protestors in an effort to keep police out, and on Sunday they also put up blockades and tents on roads in the government district of the capital, according to Reuters.
"This is a decisive moment when all Ukrainians have gathered here because they don't want to live in a country where corruption rules and where there is no justice," Vitaly Klitschko, leader of the opposition Udar Punch party, told Reuters.
During Sunday's rally leading up to the toppling of the statue, jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko had her daughter, Yevgenia, read out a message to the demonstrators present, according to Reuters.
"We are on a razor's edge between a final plunge into cruel dictatorship and a return home to the European community," Yevgenia read the message at Sunday's rally. "Don't give in, not a step back, don't give up, the future of Ukraine is in your hands."
