[45757] Arrest of three young men who stole the Dzhokhar Dudayev memorial plaque in Lviv

[45757] Arrest of three young men who stole the Dzhokhar Dudayev memorial plaque in Lviv

Arrest of three young men who stole the Dzhokhar Dudayev memorial plaque in Lviv

During yesterday, May 1, 2026, a case of vandalism was reported in the heart of the city of Lviv, when a memorial plaque dedicated to Dzhokhar Dudayev, the first president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, was stolen from the building where it was installed. The plaque was unveiled on April 21 of this year, the anniversary of Dudayev's death, as a symbol of the struggle for independence and resistance to Russian aggression.

According to reports in Lvivych | News, city authorities defined the act as an "act of vandalism." The incident received widespread attention on social media, with channels such as Lachen writes calling the perpetrators "scum" (Мразі), while emphasizing the channel's clear position supporting Ukraine and Zelensky.

The speed of the police response was significant; the Lviv Region Police announced that through the "Safe Lviv" surveillance systems, three 18-year-olds from the Mykolaiv district were identified and detained. As reported by Channel 24, the young men are now facing criminal charges for theft, which could lead to a prison sentence of 5 to 8 years.

The authorities in Lviv, including Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, clarified that the plaque would be returned to its place. Dzhokhar Dudayev remains a historical figure identified with the struggle of nations for liberation from Soviet rule and later from Russian aggression, which makes the desecration of the monument an event with significant political weight. Independent media representatives such as Radio Svoboda emphasized that this is part of the attempts to preserve the memory of nations that fought against Russia, noting that the incident received broad condemnation among the Ukrainian public.