Watch: As offensive intensifies, 30-foot-tall Ukrainian-Russian 'friendship' statue gets demolished in Kyiv  

A 30-foot-tall statue, which earlier symbolised the friendship between Ukraine and Russia, has been demolished.

The bronze statue used to show a Ukrainian and a Russian citizen holding a medal. It had depicted the Soviet Union's Order of Friendship of Peoples.

Before the complete destruction was carried out, the authorities in Kyiv removed the head of the figure of the Russian citizen in the statue on Tuesday, media reports said.

This comes as Russia has stepped up the offensive in the Ukraine war, which has started on February 24.

The Soviet-era statue was installed in the capital city in 1982.

"We now see what this 'friendship' is — destruction of Ukrainian cities ... killing tens of thousands of peaceful people. I am convinced such a monument has an entirely different meaning now," Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, a former champion boxer, said on Tuesday.

Around 100 people had witnessed the dismantling of the statue, while cheering and shouting "Glory to Ukraine" and other slogans, as per a Reuters report.

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The large titanium arch, which was placed over the statue, will remain. It will, however, be renamed and altered, as per Klitschko.

The arch, which was earlier called, "The Arch of Friendship of Nations", will now be renamed to "The Arch of Freedom of the Ukrainian People." It will also be highlighted with the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

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(With inputs from agencies)