The Polish flag was removed from the Katyn memorial

The flag of Poland was removed from the memorial complex in Katyn, RBC reports citing local authorities.

Who exactly made the decision to remove the flag is not clear from the article. RBC writes that the administration of Katyn confirmed that on June 24 “the absence of the Polish flag was discovered,” but redirected other questions from journalists to the Museum of Contemporary History of Russia, to which the memorial belongs.

Mayor of Smolensk Andrey Borisov said the decision was made by the Ministry of Culture. “I will express my general opinion. There can be no Polish flags on Russian memorials! And after the frank anti-Russian statements of Polish politicians, even more so, ”the official said.

The memorial in Katyn was created at the site of the mass grave of Polish officers shot by the NKVD in 1940, as well as repressed citizens of the USSR. Until 1990, the Soviet authorities denied involvement in the murder of the Polish military, blaming the Germans.