On Dec. 29, 2022, a monumental statue of Russian Empress Catherine II in the center of Odesa was dismantled, marking the end of more than two decades of local and national debate. This trend of removing monuments to Russian imperialism following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is taking place as the Kremlin increasingly utilizes past narratives to justify its present military action. This is particularly evident in Southern Ukraine, a region President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly asserted was not historically part of Ukraine. This argument, rooted in imperial terminology like Novoross…