Russian occupiers damage more than 500 cultural heritage objects
OLENA BARSUKOVA – THURSDAY, 27 OCTOBER 2022
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine has confirmed 552 episodes of Russian crimes against cultural heritage as of 26 October 2022.
Since the start of the full-scale war, the Russian occupiers have damaged or destroyed a number of cultural heritage objects, cultural institutions, and religious buildings.
This includes 171 landmarks, 146 objects of valuable historical development, 58 monuments and works of art, and 44 museums, as the Ministry of Culture reported.
"Sad statistics of damage and destruction of cultural heritage objects and cultural infrastructure facilities keep increasing. As of 26 October, the Ministry of Culture and Informational Policy has verified 552 episodes of damage and destruction.
According to the information from oblast administrations, almost 1,000 cultural infrastructure facilities were damaged. We verify and add to this data step by step, primarily regarding cultural heritage," Deputy Minister Kateryna Chuyeva said.
At the same time, UNESCO has confirmed that 207 cultural heritage objects have been damaged in Ukraine, as reported by the AlJazeera channel.
In particular, they have reported that 88 religious buildings, 15 museums, 76 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 18 monuments, and 10 libraries were damaged.
Most of the objects that took damage were found in Donetsk Oblast (59), 51 in Kharkiv Oblast, 30 in Kyiv Oblast, and 25 in Luhansk Oblast.
The occupiers have destroyed numerous cultural sites of Ukraine. The Russians have broken stone monuments of "Polovets babas" [the "Polovets women"; gravestone statues left by the ancient tribe of Polovtsians in Ukraine and Russia’s south in the 9th-13th centuries – ed.] that are about 1,000 years old.
They have also attacked the Sviatohirsk Lavra, the Church of Nativity of the Mother of God, dated 1862, and other religious buildings. Additionally, the invaders have destroyed the National Museum of Hryhorii Skovoroda in Kharkiv Oblast.
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