Russia began an invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. It is the largest military attack in Europe since World War II.[1][2][3] During the fighting, many pieces of Ukrainian cultural heritage were either destroyed, damaged, or put at risk due to the widespread destruction across the country.[4] This deliberate destruction and looting of over 500 Ukrainian cultural heritage sites is considered a war crime[5] and has been described by Ukraine's Minister of Culture as cultural genocide.[6]
In late April 2022, Politico reported that Ukraine had registered the shipwreck of the Russian cruiser Moskva as an "underwater cultural heritage" site.[11]
Conservation efforts
Domestic
Empty Kyiv National Art Gallery after moving of its paintings to shelters (April 2022)
The director of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in Kyiv, Fedir Androshchuk, worked with two colleagues to conserve and safe guard the museum from attack and potential looting. Androschuck also reported that four other museums in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Sumy and Chernihiv had managed to remove, store and protect their main exhibitions with the museum in Vinnytsia used as a displaced persons housing.[9] An artist collective; Asortymentna kimnata (Assorted Room, based at the Ivano-Frankivsk Contemporary Art Center, created several bunkers and worked with galleries in Kyiv, Mariupol, Odesa, Zaporizhzhya and elsewhere to evacuate and preserve pieces from the galleries.[12]
Many monuments and memorials were protected with bags of sand or wrapped in various materials. In Kyiv, approximately 28 objects were protected in this way as of mid-April.[13] Residents in Lviv attempted to help preserve several stone statues and fountains that could not be dismantled, by wrapping them in plastic, foam and other materials. Additional efforts were photographed and posted by the Lviv Foundation for the Preservation of Architectural and Historical Monuments of wooden frames and boards being used to protect monuments and church stained glass windows.[14][13]
On 28 March an NFT museum launched by the Ministry of Digital Transformation to help preserve the statehood and history of Ukraine, with all proceeds to go to the ministry. The site, Ukrainian MetaHistory NFT-Museum, would include a "warline" or timeline of events with a corresponding NFT, which would include a tweet regarding a significant moment in the war and an illustration by a Ukrainian artist. By 1 April, about $600,000 had been raised through the sale of the NFTs, with the funds slated to help rebuild museums, theaters and others cultural institutions that had been destroyed or damaged.[15][16]
Many of cultural heritage objects being protected in Ukraine from Russian invasion are objects of Russian culture.[4][12][17]
International
Shortly after the invasion, UNESCO announced that they were working to mark any possible key historic monuments and sites across the country with the emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention, the internationally recognized symbol for the protection of cultural heritage in an armed conflict. The organization would also work with the country's museum directors to coordinate conservation efforts to protect collections and monitor any damage to cultural sites through satellite imaging.[18] Shortly after the invasion, officials with the International Council of Museums began to document artifacts and pieces that law enforcement might come across if they were moved illegally across national borders.[19]
Cultural institutions in Poland offered aid, through the Committee for Aid to Museums of Ukraine created shortly after the invasion. The Committee offered support to all museums and cultural institutions in Ukraine to support and secure their collections as well as documentation, digitalization and inventory of collections.[12] The aid from other institutions continued throughout the war. In May 2022 the Czech Ministry of Culture commissioned the National Museum of Prague to send packing materials such as bubble wrap and polyethylene foam along with safety equipment such as fire extinguishers and oriented strand boards to block windows.[20]
The Ukrainian Cultural Center in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California hosted an arts fundraiser which highlighted works by Ukrainian artists in LA in an art exhibit and silent auction as well as a concert, which included the work of late Myroslav Skoryk. Organizers stated that all proceeds will be donated towards humanitarian aid in Ukraine, and hope that the cultural heritage and language would be passed on to another generation.[21] Others, both refugees and transplants, have embraced traditions and traditional clothing during holidays, outside of Ukraine to show support and resilience against the invasion.[22]
During a Milan furniture fair in June 2022, Ukrainian designers Victoria Yakusha and Kateryna Sokolova, highlighted the cultural heritage and symbolisms of Ukraine with their pieces. Sokolova stated her pieces were created in an effort to avoid "Ukrainian design being wiped off the world map" while Yakusha claims her mission is to "show the world the creativity and beauty of Ukrainian culture and thus assert the identity."[23]
The Backup Ukraine project in partnership with Virtue Media Group VICE, Blue Shield Danmark and the Danish National Commission for UNESCO was announced in May 2022. It is proposed to use the application to scan objects in Ukraine, which will then be converted into a 3D model and uploaded to a cloud database for backup.[24]
Damage
Kharkiv's Dormition Cathedral, showing it before the invasion, and damage to the interior of the cathedral.
On 16 October 2024, UNESCO UNESCO has verified damage of 457 objects: 143 religious sites, 231 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 32 museums, 33 monuments, 17 libraries, 1 archive. This list contains only cases known from multiple credible sources,[25] and does not contain superficial damages, like broken windows and doors.[26]
Ministry of Culture of Ukraine as of 5January 2023 reported 1189 cases of damage or destruction of cultural objects, including 563 "creative hubs", 453 libraries, 63 museums and galleries, 18 theaters and philharmonic halls, and 92 institutions of art education.[27] 21 of them were regarded as memorials of national significance. About 100 objects were destroyed completely or almost completely.[28] Cultural Heritage Monitoring Lab at Virginia Museum of Natural History found evidence of 458 damaged cultural sites as of 10June 2022.[29] The New York Times Visual Investigations team compiling a list of about 339 buildings, monuments and other cultural institutions that had been partially or totally destroyed by December 2022, with primary attention given to the Donbas region.[30]
On 25 February 2022,[31]Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum, about fifty miles from the capital, burned to the ground after a Russian bombardment.[32] The museum contained folk artwork, including paintings by Maria Prymachenko and textile works by Hanna Veres. Some paintings and other items were saved from the burning building by locals.[31] The number of artworks by Prymachenko, Veres, and other artists that were destroyed or damaged is unknown.[33]
The Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, which was under construction, was damaged on 1 March 2022. A museum building at the center suffered structural damage and the adjacent cemetery was damaged also. Other elements of the site, including the synagogue and menorah sculpture, were undamaged.[34][35] The Kyiv Small Opera building suffered damage on 15 March.[36]
The Dormition Cathedral in Kharkiv was damaged during the battle of Kharkiv. Artwork and stained glass in the cathedral were damaged by a cruise missile that also damaged the Kharkiv city center.[37] The Slovo Building in Kharkiv was also damaged by Russian military actions,[37] as well as a memorial in Drobytsky Yar on the outskirts of Kharkiv dedicated to Holocaust victims.[38] On 7 March, the exterior of the Kharkiv Art Museum received some damage, and while the exhibitions were not damaged, they continued to face danger from street and air attacks.[39] Many modern-era buildings received damage, including the Kharkiv Regional Administration building, Kharkiv City Council, the Opera & Ballet Theatre and the Faculty of Economics building of Kharkiv University.
Polovtsian stone sculptures of 9th-13th centuries in Izium. The statue in the right is completely destroyed; nearby monument to WWII heroes (in the background) is partially destroyed.
Another severely damaged city of Kharkiv region was Izium, where historical buildings, churches, memorials, as well as Polovtsian stone sculptures of 9th-13th centuries, were damaged or destroyed in the battle for the city.[25][40][41]
The Drama Theatre in Mariupol was mostly destroyed on 16 March 2022, while sheltering at least 1,300 inside.
The Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre, built in 1960, was largely destroyed by Russian airstrikes on 16 March 2022.[49] On 23 March 2022 it was announced that the Kuindzhi Art Museum, which was dedicated to artist Arkhip Kuindzhi and held other Ukrainian artists works was reportedly destroyed, although some of the works had been removed beforehand.[50] In September, Russia also sent a rocket into the courtyard of the Mykolaiv Academic Art Drama Theater, causing significant damage.[51]
In the city of Chernihiv, which had been under siege since 24 February, the Vasil Tarnovski House of the Museum of Ukrainian Antiquities was almost completely destroyed on 11 March.[52] The Gothic Revival-styled Chernihiv Regional Youth Library was damaged to an extent. On 6 March, the Chernihiv Regional Art Museum was shelled the same day as the Chernihiv Literary Museum-Reserve was damaged. Damage was also reported to the Shchors Cinema, Ukraina Hotel, and a museum branch dedicated to the military, whose contents had previously been sealed in a vault.[53] The Korolenko Chernihiv Regional Universal Scientific Library was bombed on 30 March, resulting in damage to its library.[54]
At the end of March 2022, it was announced that Club 8-bit, one of Ukraine's largest privately owned computer museums, which held over 500 pieces of computer history that dated back into the 1950s, had been destroyed by the siege of Mariupol.[55]
Trostianets local history museum located in the Koenig Manor of the 18th–19th centuries after occupation and shelling
The mayor of Trostianets announced in April 2022 that the Koenig Manor, an 18th-century neoclassical palace complex, which includes a local history museum, a chocolate museum, an art gallery, a gallery on Russian composer Pytor Tchaikovsky and gardens, was damaged during its occupation by Russian forces since February 2022 and by shelling.[56] That same month Ukrainian authorities intentionally dismantled a 27-foot bronze statue that depicted two workers, Ukrainian and Russian, holding together a Soviet order of friendship and situated under the large Peoples Friendship arch. The structures had been installed in 1982, to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Union, but Ukraine had been discussing the removal of the statue since 2016.[57]
On 4 May Ukrainian cultural inspectors announced that Russian troops had destroyed kurgans, ancient burial sites over 2,000 years old. The mounds, up to 15 metres high, were reportedly being used as elevated positions for artillery fire.[58]
On 8 May, Russian shelling damaged a historic Jewish cemetery[ru] in Hlukhiv.[61][62][63] Some graves were destroyed by falling trees, and the cemetery was littered with pieces of roof from neighboring houses.[64]
As of June 2023, 634 incidents of Russian artillery or rocket attacks on educational and cultural institutions had been recorded across Kharkiv oblast alone, and evidence pointed to intentional targeting of such institutions.[65]
In April 2022, the Mariupol city council announced that over two thousand exhibits had been looted from Mariupol museums, including original works by Arkhip Kuindzhi and Ivan Aivazovsky. Most exhibits from the Museum of Local Lore and Kuindzhi Art Museum had been removed by Russian occupation forces.[66] However, the director of the Mariupol Local History Museum, Natalia Kapustnikova, told the pro-Kremlin news outlet Izvestiya that she had handed over the works of Aivazovsky and Kuindzhi to Russian forces "following the end of the hostilities".[67]
Looted Kherson Local History Museum
In May 2022, Ukrainian officials claimed that Russian forces looted the "largest and most expensive" collections of Scythian artefacts in Ukraine from Melitopol.[58] Ukrainian Culture minister Oleksandr Tkachenko has alleged that Russian forces had looted thousands of artifacts from almost forty Ukrainian museums by October 2022. Tkachenko further stated that the looted items and destruction to other cultural sites amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars in damage and lost items.[68] Among others, two main museums of Kherson were looted by Russian forces before retreating from the city in November 2022: the Local History Museum and the Art Museum, from which some 10,000 artworks were stolen. The items were transported to Crimean museums.[69][70]
In late 2022, while Mariupol was still occupied by Russian forces, Sasha Korban's mural Milana on a facade of a Mariupol building, showing 3-year old Milana Abdurashytova, a survivor of a 2015 pro-Russian missile attack,[71][72] was destroyed.[73]
Online cultural heritage
Volunteers internationally are working to archive Ukrainian cultural heritage digital content that is at risk of destruction due to the Russian invasion of 2022.[74] The Internet Archive is supporting various preservation efforts, including the initiative Saving Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Online (SUCHO), started on 1 March 2022.[75]
The project Backup Ukraine was announced in May 2022 and is working in partnership with VICE Media Group'sVirtue, the Blue Shield Denmark and the Danish UNESCO National Commission. The project asks volunteers to use an app to scan objects in Ukraine, which are then turned into a 3D model and uploaded into a cloud database to be backed up. Scans already uploaded to the project include everyday items such as bedrooms and pets along with works of art.[77] Google created the Ukraine is Here experience which allows for the viewer to experience over 40 cultural landmarks in 3D along with 360-degree views of national parks. Art pieces can also be seen through augmented reality through the Google Arts and Culture app.[78]
Effect of damage to sites
The chief researcher at Ukraine's Institute of Archaeology; Oleksander Symonenko, told reporters that any looting and destruction of artifacts and cultural institution were irreplaceable and that if the Ukrainian culture disappears then it is an irreparable disaster. The Ukrainian first lady; Olena Zelenska described the attacks on cultural heritage sites and museums as a war against the Ukrainian identity while speaking at a Ukrainian museum in New York in September 2022.[68] The director of the Lviv National Art Gallery; Taras Voznyak, echoed these comments stating "Putin knows that without art, without our history, Ukraine will have a weaker identity."[19]
Some academics such as a lexicographer and lecturer of Ukrainian language at Columbia University have raised concerns that due to the continued destruction of Ukrainian culture by Russian forces the destruction is an attempt to destroy Ukraine even if Ukraine wins the war. The director of UNESCO World Heritage Center likewise stated that not only was Ukraine losing part of its cultural heritage but its identity and part of its history would disappear if the war did not end.[79] Additional concerns were raised by a US Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights, who warned that the questioning and denial of Ukrainian identity and history, comments made by Russian authority figures and the destruction of the Ukrainian cultural heritage, would have lasting effects.[80]
The chair of Blue Shield Denmark noted that destroying a country's cultural heritage was the fastest way to undermine its national identity and that what has been learned after WWII and other conflicts is that saving a country's cultural heritage is the best path to rebuilding that society after conflicts.[77]
Response
Ukrainian scholars have raised concerns about an "unfolding cultural catastrophe", which has been echoed by the President and CEO of the J Paul Getty Trust, James Cuno. Cuno's statement condemned the cultural atrocities being committed in Ukraine, along with the human and environmental losses, and said that protecting and preserving cultural heritage is a core value.[9] The Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative worked with Ukrainian contacts that have been trained in conservation of cultural heritage to provide support.[10]
The Simon Wiesenthal Center called on UNESCO on 7 March 2022 to take immediate steps to protect all religious and cultural sites in Ukraine following reports of Russia bombing the Babi Yar Holocaust Memorial Center. The Wiesenthal center also called on the banning of Russia from hosting the World Heritage Conference, which was initially scheduled for 19-30 of June, due to the Russian invasion, as the conference was to take place in Kazan, a city in the Republic of Tatarstan which is a federal subject of Russia.[81]
On 9 March, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine announced the collection of information on the destruction of cultural heritage objects of Ukraine.[82] At the same time, the Ministry urged not to disseminate information about ways to protect cultural property or the location or movement of museum collections during the war. On 5 April, the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation launched an interactive map called the "Map of Cultural Losses", showcasing destroyed or damaged heritage sites across the nation since the invasion.[83]
After reports of looting of Scythian artifacts by Russian troops, the Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni called the looting heinous and barbaric, and highlighted the past actions of Russia looting after World War II, when Priam's Treasure from the Schliemann excavation was taken to Russia. Mendoni, reiterated her call for the creation of a Red List to prevent the illegal trade of looted artifacts and the creation of a platform to collect information of the looted cultural goods.[84]
The culture of Ukraine is composed of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian people that has formed throughout the history of Ukraine. Strong family values and religion, alongside the traditions of Ukrainian embroidery and folk music are integral aspects of the country's culture. It is closely intertwined with ethnic studies about ethnic Ukrainians and Ukrainian historiography which is focused on the history of Kyiv and the region around it.
Trostianets is a city in Okhtyrka Raion of Sumy Oblast of northeastern Ukraine. It was the administrative center of Trostianets Raion until it was abolished on 18 July 2020. The city lies on the Boromlya River, 59 km (37 mi) from Sumy. Landmarks include a neo-Gothic "round courtyard" (1749), the late Baroque church of the Annunciation (1744–50), the 18th-century Galitzine palace, and a "grotto of nymphs". The city has a population of 19,544.
Since 2014, the Islamic State has destroyed cultural heritage on an unprecedented scale, primarily in Iraq and Syria, but also in Libya. These attacks and demolitions targeted a variety of ancient and medieval artifacts, museums, libraries, and places of worship, among other sites of importance to human history. Between June 2014 and February 2015, the Islamic State's Salafi jihadists plundered and destroyed at least 28 historic religious buildings in Mosul alone. Many of the valuables that were looted during these demolitions were used to bolster the economy of the Islamic State.
Serbian cultural and religious sites in Kosovo were systematically vandalized and destroyed over several historical periods, during the Ottoman rule, World War I, World War II, Yugoslav communist rule, Kosovo War and 2004 unrest.
Russian war crimes are violations of international criminal law including war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide which the official armed and paramilitary forces of Russia have committed or been accused of committing since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, as well as the aiding and abetting of crimes by proto-statelets or puppet statelets which are armed and financed by Russia, including the Luhansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic. These have included murder, torture, terror, persecution, deportation and forced transfer, enforced disappearance, child abductions, rape, looting, unlawful confinement, inhumane acts, unlawful airstrikes and attacks against civilian objects, use of banned chemical weapons, and wanton destruction.
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Russian military and authorities have committed war crimes, such as deliberate attacks against civilian targets, including on hospitals, medical facilities and on the energy grid; indiscriminate attacks on densely-populated areas; the abduction, torture and murder of civilians; forced deportations; sexual violence; destruction of cultural heritage; and the killing and torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum was a history museum in Ivankiv, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, which was destroyed during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, leading to the potential loss of over twenty works by the artist Maria Prymachenko.
Kuindzhi Art Museum was an art museum located in the city of Mariupol in Ukraine. It is dedicated to the display of the life and works of the artist Arkhip Kuindzhi, who was born in the city. The museum opened on 30 October 2010, but its creation was proposed almost a century earlier.
The Mariupol Museum of Local Lore is a museum of regional history in the city of Mariupol, Ukraine, at 20 Georgievskaya Street. The museum describes the natural conditions of the southern part of the Donetsk region and the history of the region from ancient times to the present. Its main activities of the museum are: Collection, exposition, research, scientific education and library. It was destroyed in 2022 during the Siege of Mariupol.
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military have carried out deliberate attacks against civilian targets and indiscriminate attacks in densely-populated areas. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine says the Russian military exposed the civilian population to unnecessary and disproportionate harm by using cluster bombs and by firing other weapons with wide-area effects into civilian areas, such as missiles, heavy artillery shells and multiple launch rockets. As of 2024, the attacks had resulted in the UN-documented deaths of between 11,000 and estimated 40,000 dead civilians. On 22 April 2022, the UN reported that of the 2,343 civilian casualties it had been able to document, it could confirm 92.3% of these deaths were as a result of the actions of the Russian armed forces.
This timeline of the Russian invasion of Ukraine covers the period from 24 February 2022, when Russia launched a military invasion of Ukraine, to 7 April 2022 when fighting focused away from the north and towards the south and east of Ukraine.
The Kherson Art Museum is an art museum in Kherson, Ukraine. It is housed in Kherson's former city hall building. The museum opened on 27 May 1978.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Russo-Ukrainian War:
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022-ongoing), Russian forces and organizations have stolen and looted tens of thousands of art pieces from Ukraine, ranging from modern art to ancient Scythian gold. The Russians have also destroyed hundreds of cultural sites and monuments. The looting has been organized, with, in some cases, Russian art experts participating in the theft, and directing Russian soldiers as to which pieces to steal. In Mariupol alone, Russians stole over 2,000 works of art from the city's three main museums, after Russian forces occupied the city after a three month siege in May 2022. In the Kherson region, shortly before fleeing the area to the north of the Dnieper river Russians destroyed, either fully or in part, over 200 Ukrainian cultural sites and stole around 10,000 art pieces from the city's museums, out of a collection of 13,000. Other sources put the number of stolen art works from Kherson alone at 15,000.
References
↑ Herb, Jeremy; Starr, Barbara; Kaufman, Ellie (24 February 2022). "US orders 7,000 more troops to Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine". Oren Liebermann and Michael Conte. CNN. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022. Russia's invasion of its neighbor in Ukraine is the largest conventional military attack that's been seen since World War II, the senior defense official said Thursday outlining United States observations of the unfolding conflict
↑ Tsvetkova, Maria; Vasovic, Aleksandar; Zinets, Natalia; Charlish, Alan; Grulovic, Fedja (27 February 2022). "Putin puts nuclear 'deterrence' forces on alert". Reuters. Writing by Robert Birsel and Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by William Mallard, Angus MacSwan and David Clarke. Kyiv: Thomson Corporation. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022. ... [t]he biggest assault on a European state since World War Two.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
![Hryhoriy Skovoroda Memorial Museum [uk] after shelling on 6 May Museum of Hryhoriy Skovoroda after Russian shelling on 6 May 2022 (02).jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Museum_of_Hryhoriy_Skovoroda_after_Russian_shelling_on_6_May_2022_%2802%29.jpg/220px-Museum_of_Hryhoriy_Skovoroda_after_Russian_shelling_on_6_May_2022_%2802%29.jpg)
![Jewish cemetery [ru] in Hlukhiv after shelling on 8 May Jewish cemetery in Hlukhiv after Russian shelling on 8 May 2022 (01).jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Jewish_cemetery_in_Hlukhiv_after_Russian_shelling_on_8_May_2022_%2801%29.jpg/220px-Jewish_cemetery_in_Hlukhiv_after_Russian_shelling_on_8_May_2022_%2801%29.jpg)
