Edmonton man faces vandalism charges over Ukrainian statue painting

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Canadian Press initially erroneously reported that the man charged with vandalism writes for Press Progress.

An Edmonton writer has been charged with vandalism after a statue of a controversial Ukrainian military commander was spray-painted.

Duncan Kinney, who writes for The Progress Report, was charged with mischief under $5,000 in relation to the Aug. 10, 2021 defacing.

Kinney wrote about the vandalism the same day it occurred, saying the bust of Roman Shukhevych had the words “actual Nazi” spray-painted on it in red.

Shukhevych is honoured by some as a fighter for Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union and abhorred by others for his willingness to collaborate to that end with Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime.

The defaced statue stands in the Ukrainian Youth Unity Complex in Edmonton, a facility that serves several Ukrainian organizations and rents banquet and reception space.

No date has been set for a court appearance.

Kinney, a fellow at the Broadbent Institute, is also executive director of Progress Alberta, which describes itself as an independent, non-profit communications and campaigning organization dedicated to building a more progressive Alberta.