Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that “barbaric” demolition of a World War II memorial in Georgia’s second largest city of Kutaisi was “an act of state vandalism, insulting the feelings of any civilized person.”

“This sacrilege, committed in Kutaisi, is yet another disgraceful act by the current leadership in Tbilisi in its maniacal drive to erase historical memories of its own people,” it said.

A mother and her young daughter were killed in an explosion to demolish the 46-meter-high memorial aimed at making the way for a construction of a new building of the Parliament. The victims were killed by lumps of concrete sent hurtling into the courtyard of their home.

A chief technician of a Tbilisi-based private demolition company, SakPetkMretsvi, which was in charge of demolition of the memorial complex, was arrested. The prosecutor’s office said security norms were violated. 

Some Georgian media reports suggest that the demolition could have been held hastily. Initially the demolition was reportedly planned for December 21; opposition parties, protesting against the authorities plans to tear down the memorial, were planning to hold a protest rally that day.