A monument to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin...

"A monument to Joseph Stalin...whose leadership led to the great victory over the Nazi invaders, will be put up in Zaporozhie at the request of World War II veterans," Oleksandr Zubchevskyi said.

The statue will be guarded day and night to prevent attacks on it, he added.

He also said that a statue to Stalin would soon be erected in the capital, Kiev. He did not give further details.

The news comes after plans to decorate Moscow with billboards explaining Stalin"s role in World War Two ahead of Victory Day celebrations caused controversy in Russia.

However, a source in the organizing committee led by President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday that there would be no images of Stalin during the celebrations.

Stalin"s role during World War Two has been the subject of intense debate in Russia.

Communist Party members and veteran organizations insist that it was Stalin"s leadership that pulled the Soviet Union through its darkest hour and freed

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