French legislators say destruction of monument to opera singer Slipak part of effort to "erase" Ukraine

That’s according to Melanie Vogel, Member of the French Senate, who spoke with Guildhall, Ukrinform reports.

The memory of Vasyl Slipak must be preserved both in Ukraine and in France, she stressed.

“We are very saddened to see the destruction of a memorial dedicated to the inspiring artist Wassyl Slipak, a man sharing important ties with France,” the senator said.

“Such destruction is part of a broader Russian attack against Ukrainian culture and figures of resistance. We support initiatives that will keep Vasyl Slipak's memory alive, in both our countries,” Vogel added.

In turn, Member of the European Parliament Raphael Glucksmann (France) shared Vogel’s concern and noted that a monument to Slipak should be erected outside one of the two Paris Operas.

“What the Russians are trying to do is clear, they want to erase all the memory of Ukraine and this is not the first time in history they trying to do that. They are trying to destroy all the monuments and statues for each single hero Ukraine has. This is another way of waging war against Ukraine. You destroy the cities, you kill the people, you destroy monuments. Every symbol of Ukrainian pride has to disappear according to the Russians and their leaders,” Glucksmann said.

“The way to resist Russian vision is also to say – that every monument you will destroy we will build the new one. And I think this is a very good idea and it should be the monument across the Opera, the old one Garnie or the new one in the symbolic place of music and art,” the lawmaker said.

As reported earlier, on July 10, the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, said that in Donetsk region, Russian invaders demolished a memorial to the anti-terrorist operation veteran, Hero of Ukraine Vasyl Slipak.

Memo. A world-renowned Ukrainian opera singer, Vasyl Slipak, was born in Lviv, won numerous vocal contests thanks to his unique voice and, ultimately, moved to France, where he lived for 19 years. Slipak had a successful career and performed on world opera stages. He actively supported the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, coordinated the public actions in support of Ukraine in France and eventually joined the volunteer movement.

When the military operations began in eastern Ukraine, Slipak decided to leave the stage and career in Europe and join the ranks of volunteers. Being on a combat mission, Vasyl Slipak a.k.a. Myth was killed by a sniper. 30 June 2016, Slipak was awarded the Order of Courage of the first degree (posthumously). In February 2017, he was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously.