The National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO strongly condemned the Russian strike, which damaged the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra – a UNESCO World Heritage site – and other facilities, and called for an urgent visit by UNESCO experts to record the damage and provide an objective and impartial assessment, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said on Monday.
"The National Commission of Ukraine for UNESCO strongly condemns another Russian strike, which damaged the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra – a UNESCO World Heritage site under enhanced protection within the framework of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its 1999 Second Protocol, a shrine of Ukraine and an invaluable part of the cultural heritage of humanity," the message on Telegram reads.
The MFA also condemned the attacks on the National Cultural, Arts and Museum Complex Mystetsky Arsenal, the National Palace of Arts Ukraine, and the Kyiv National I.K. Karpenko-Karyi University of Theatre, Cinema and Television; on the House of Organ and Chamber Music in Dnipro, and on the Kharkiv Art Museum.
"We are outraged by the shelling of the Dovzhenko National Film Studio, which destroyed the oldest costume collection of Ukraine," the message notes.
The MFA also called on the international community to stop tolerating these crimes, to increase political, economic, and legal pressure on Russia, and to take decisive measures to stop the Russian aggression as soon as possible.
"We demand a tough and clear reaction from the leadership of the UNESCO Secretariat, the use of the toolkit of the UNESCO Executive Board, the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, and the UNESCO World Heritage Committee. We await an urgent visit of UNESCO experts to the attacked cultural heritage sites to record the damage and provide an objective and impartial assessment of the consequences of another cynical Russian crime," the ministry noted.
In addition, the MFA noted that Russia is guilty of horrific crimes against culture and should not have a voice in UNESCO.
