Authorities in Kiev have received a petition asking them to erect a monument to commemorate a shark that killed a Russian citizen at an Egyptian resort earlier this month.
A document published on the website of Kiev City Council on Monday calls for the “creation of a monument-fountain in the form of a shark,” which should be placed in the Ukrainian capital’s historic center or on the banks of the Dnieper River.
So far, some 2,800 people have signed the petition, although to be formally considered by the authorities it must pass the threshold of 6,000 signatures.
Submitted by Miroslav Latik, the appeal claims that a “shark-fighter against the Russians” would bring “cultural, historical and ideological value to the city and the country.”
The proposal for the monument comes after a shark attacked and killed a 23-year-old Russian national at the popular Egyptian beach resort of Hurghada last week, with the gruesome incident being caught on camera.
The shark was later captured and killed, and local media have reported that authorities have started work on mummifying the predator while extracting the victim’s remains from its stomach.
Amid the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, Ukrainian officials have repeatedly stated that their plan is to maximize the death toll among Russians. Mikhail Podoliak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, said on Thursday that Kiev’s only plan for its much-anticipated counteroffensive is “advance with the maximum killing of Russians on this route.”
His remarks came after Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov claimed that the West had told Kiev to “kill as many Russians” as possible in the early days of the conflict before it committed to supplying large amounts of weaponry.