Workers removed a Soviet-era star from a spire atop Ukraine's parliament building on Tuesday, as the country attempts to recover from bloody unrest that ousted its Russia-friendly president, Viktor Yanukovych.
"The Soviet star has been cut off," Ruslan Koshulinsky, the deputy speaker of parliament, reportedly said. Parliament's new leadership, installed this weekend following Yanukovych's ouster, approved the move, he added. Some reports said the nationalist Svoboda Party was behind the star's removal.
The star is similar to those that adorn buildings around Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union.
Ukraine has begun the messy job of forming a post-Yanukovych government. Those efforts hit a snag on Tuesday when Oleksandr Turchynov, speaker of parliament and the country's interim president, said results would be delayed until Thursday.
Presidential elections have been set for May 25. On Tuesday, opposition leader Vitaly Klitschko announced he would run.
The situation in the country remained tense. Yanukovych's former chief of staff, Andriy Klyuyev, was reportedly hospitalized after being shot. There were no further details. Yanukovych's whereabouts remain unknown.
Fantastic photo by @KyivPost's Pavlo Podufalov taken today as Soviet star removed from #Ukraine parliament flagpole.