Key points
- The Cabinet of Ministers has approved an updated procedure for the evacuation of museum items during martial law.
- Evacuation is mandatory within 50 km of the front line.
- Evacuated valuables must be stored no closer than 75 km from the combat zone.
- The procedures for making decisions on evacuation for state and municipal institutions have been simplified.
- A system of three evacuation stages and rules for return after the end of martial law have been established.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved an updated procedure for the evacuation of museum objects during martial law, developed by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, taking into account the experience of relocating cultural assets over recent years.
The document is intended to safeguard cultural heritage by establishing clear rules on how, when and where valuables should be moved from dangerous areas, as well as defining the conditions for their storage and return after the war ends.
According to the resolution, the evacuation of museum objects is mandatory from territories within a 50-kilometre radius of the line of combat engagement, as well as from settlements included in the official List of Territories where hostilities are ongoing or have taken place, or which are temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation.
A decision on mandatory evacuation may also be taken by a regional military administration in coordination with the military command. Relocated cultural assets must be stored at a distance of at least 75 kilometres from the front line.
The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine states that the decision-making procedure has been simplified. The Ministry is now responsible for decisions concerning state institutions, while regional military administrations oversee communal institutions. Museum directors have been granted the authority to independently organise evacuation in cases of an immediate threat to the preservation of exhibits, with subsequent notification of the relevant authorities.
The new procedure introduces a three-stage evacuation system, determining the priority of relocation based on the cultural value of items and the level of risk.
It also requires that a decision on the return of evacuated museum objects be made within 12 months after the end of martial law. If return is not possible, an alternative secure storage location must be designated. Museums from which cultural assets were evacuated retain the right to monitor the conditions and state of their exhibits.
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