Russian troops have damaged or destroyed nearly 2,000 cultural monuments since February 24, 2022, and have stolen over 7.8 million cultural heritage objects from 2014 to 2026; more than 240 criminal proceedings have been initiated based on these facts, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko has said.
"Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, nearly 2,000 cultural monuments have been damaged or destroyed. Over a hundred of them are objects under the auspices of UNESCO. What Russia cannot destroy with missiles, it steals," he wrote on Telegram on Monday.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, from 2014 to 2026, Russia stole or misappropriated over 7.8 million cultural heritage objects of Ukraine from museums in the temporarily occupied territories. "The real scale of losses may be even greater, as there is still no access to many stock collections," he emphasized.
"We document every such crime. Over 240 criminal proceedings. Already 15 suspects. And this is just the beginning. Crimes against cultural heritage are also war crimes. They have no statute of limitations," he added.
As reported, five people died and at least 28 were injured as a result of the Russia attack on Kyiv on Monday night. At least 26 residential buildings were damaged, and the roof of the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was on fire. A pre-trial investigation has been initiated into this fact under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – violation of the laws and customs of war.
"The strike on the Lavra stands in the same line as the strikes on the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, the Hryhoriy Skovoroda Museum in Kharkiv region, the Ivankiv Museum with its collection of works by Mariya Prymachenko, the Dovzhenko Film Studios in Kyiv, the House of Organ and Chamber Music in Dnipro, and other symbols of Ukrainian culture. This is a deliberate policy of Russia. To destroy what shapes Ukrainian identity," Kravchenko emphasized.
Also last night, Russia struck the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Studios in Kyiv, destroying the costume collection of Ukraine, and hit the Dnipro House of Organ and Chamber Music.
As a result of strikes on Kharkiv, the premises of the Kharkiv Art Museum, civilian enterprises, residential buildings, and cars were damaged. Some 13 citizens were injured, including a one-month-old child. Due to a repeated strike on the territory of a civilian enterprise in the Kholodnohirsky district of the city, four SES employees and an employee of the emergency situations department of the city council received fatal injuries. Six rescuers were wounded.
