Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese has been added to the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger, reported Vice Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy – Minister of Culture Tetyana Berezhna.
"The decision was adopted during the 48th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Busan. This is the result of long-term work by the team at the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine and colleagues. This is an extremely important international decision that officially confirms the threats to the site due to the temporary Russian occupation of Crimea, illegal excavations, construction, destruction of the archaeological context, and removal of cultural property," Berezhna wrote on Facebook.
According to her, the Committee called for an immediate halt to actions that could inflict further damage on monuments in temporarily occupied Crimea and urged strengthened efforts to combat the illicit trafficking of cultural property.
The Committee also called for the protection of other Ukrainian monuments in temporarily occupied Crimea: the Khan’s Palace in Bakhchysarai, the cave towns of Crimean Gothia, the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory, and the Sudak Fortress. During the discussion, Ukraine was openly supported by Poland, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland.
"The world sees Russia’s systematic destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage. Ukraine will continue to use all international mechanisms to protect our cultural heritage," Berezhna emphasized.
As reported, in October 2025, the UNESCO Executive Board decided to continue monitoring the situation in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea due to numerous instances of Russia destroying Ukraine’s cultural heritage, including the UNESCO World Heritage site "Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora."
