Teens detained in Babi Yar memorial desecration

Kiev police reportedly detained two teenagers suspected of vandalizing a Babi Yar Holocaust memorial and tombstones in a nearby military cemetery. The daily newspaper Seodnya reported that the teens, aged 16 and 14, claimed they had been intoxicated and had no racial motivation.The incident took place Sunday and police detained the suspects Monday. The teens are to stand trial on charges of hooliganism. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the vandalism. In a separate incident, a Holocaust memorial in the southern Ukrainian city Odessa was smeared with large swastikas on Sunday. On the same day, anti-Semitic graffiti was found and several Jewish tombstones were vandalized in a Jewish cemetery in that city.