Russia committed over 500 war crimes against Ukrainian cultural heritage, – govt

As of August 3, 2022, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy has documented 500 episodes of russian war crimes against Ukrainian cultural heritage. Several dozen more such episodes are under review. 

The 500th object, entered into the MCIP database, was an architectural monument of local significance – the building of the former Real school, built in 1882 in the city of Izium, Kharkiv region, at the address of St. Staroposhtova, 22. Until recently, the building housed the Izium Lyceum No. 4. In March 2022, as a result of numerous shellings, the monument was partially destroyed. 

“Half a year of war – half a thousand objects of cultural heritage and cultural institutions damaged/destroyed by russia. After this, does anyone still doubt that one of putin’s main goals is Ukrainian culture? We have to do everything possible to protect, restore and preserve our unique heritage,” said Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. 

Read also: Operational information on Russian invasion (September 5)

In total, 142 objects of cultural heritage were destroyed and damaged as a result of shelling of the occupiers: 23 monuments of national significance, 112 monuments of local significance and 7 newly discovered cultural heritage objects, as well as 132 objects of valuable historical buildings. 

In addition, 377 art objects and cultural institutions were destroyed or damaged due to the actions of the occupiers. Among them are 169 objects of religious buildings, 75 cultural centers, theaters, cinemas and other art centers, 52 memorial monuments and works of art, 45 libraries, 36 museums and reserves. 

War crimes have been documented in 15 regions of Ukraine: 

130 – in Donetsk region (the largest number – 93 in the city of Mariupol and its outskirts), 

108 – in Kharkiv region (the largest number – 88 in the city of Kharkiv and its outskirts), 

80 – in Kyiv region (the largest number – 52 in Bucha district), 

59 – in Luhansk region (the largest number – 54 in Sievierodonetsk district), 

38 – in Chernihiv region (the largest number – 29 in the city of Chernihiv and its outskirts), 

28 – in Sumy region (the largest number – 18 in Okhtyrka district), 

18 – in Zaporizhzhia region (the largest number – 10 in Pology district), 

and: 

10 – in Mykolaiv region, 

6 – in Zhytomyr region, 

6 – in Kherson region, 

5 – in the city of Kyiv, 

5 – in Dnipropetrovsk region, 

4 – in Odesa region, 

2 – in Vinnytsia region, 

1 – in Lviv region. 

You can help in collecting information about russian war crimes against Ukrainian cultural heritage sites and cultural institutions as follows:   

  • send information about damaged or destroyed sites of cultural heritage, which are not yet in the MCIP database, in your regions and communities here. 
  • send clarifications or additional photo and video materials to objects, which are already in the database, to the address [email protected]  

Note: if you take any data from the network, please be sure to add a link to the source.