Monument to Swedish king to go up in Ukraine

KIEV. January 20. KAZINFORM A monument to Charles XII of Sweden, whose army was defeated by Russians in the Battle of Poltava in 1709, will be erected some 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the central Ukrainian city, local officials said.

The monument to the Swedish king and his ally Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa, which will mark the 300th anniversary of the battle on June 27, was proposed by the Ukrainian government and approved by local authorities, Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. The authorities in Poltava refused to erect the monument in the city. "The monument will be erected 100 kilometers from the city in the place where the Swedish forces retreating from Poltava attempted to cross the Dnieper River and were encircled by cavalry led by Alexander Menshikov and taken prisoner," a spokesman said.