Key points
- The National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO condemned Russia’s attacks on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and a number of cultural institutions, and called for increased international pressure on the aggressor.
- Among the damaged objects are the Lavra, the “Mystetskyi Arsenal”, the Palace of Arts “Ukraine”, the Karpenko-Karyi University, the House of Organ and Chamber Music in Dnipro, and the Art Museum in Kharkiv.
- At the Dovzhenko Film Studio, the oldest costume collection in Ukraine was destroyed – about 100,000 costumes and three million units of clothing.
- The Commission demands that the UNESCO Secretariat take immediate action and send experts to record the damage.
- All countries are called upon to prevent Russia from being admitted to key UNESCO bodies.
The National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO condemned Russia’s attacks on the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and a number of cultural institutions in Ukraine, and called on the international community to increase pressure on the aggressor state. The relevant statement was published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Among the damaged objects:
- The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a cultural monument that is under enhanced protection of the 1954 Hague Convention and its Second Protocol;
- The National Cultural and Art Museum Complex “Mystetskyi Arsenal”;
- The National Palace of Arts “Ukraine”;
- The Kyiv National University of Theater, Film and Television named after Ivan Karpenko-Kary;
- The Dovzhenko Film Studio, where the oldest costume collection in Ukraine was destroyed – about 100,000 costumes and three million units of clothing.
In Dnipro, the House of Organ and Chamber Music was damaged, and in Kharkiv, the Art Museum was damaged.
We call on the international community to stop tolerating these crimes, to increase political, economic and legal pressure on the aggressor state, and to take decisive measures to stop Russian aggression as soon as possible.
– National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO.
The Commission demands that the UNESCO Secretariat take immediate action using the mechanisms of the Executive Board, the World Heritage Committee, and the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
We expect an urgent visit by UNESCO experts to the attacked cultural heritage sites to record the damage and provide an objective and unbiased assessment of the consequences of another cynical Russian crime.
– National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO.
The Commission also called on all countries to demand that Russia be prevented from participating in key UNESCO bodies.
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Russia attacked Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Dovzhenko Film Studios, and the House of Organ and Chamber Music in Dnipro
