The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has appealed to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the parliaments and governments of its member states with a request to start consultations on the exclusion of Russia from the organization.

Some 296 MPs voted for relevant resolution No. 9535 at a plenary session on Friday, a member of the Holos faction Yaroslav Zhelezniak has said.

In its appeal, the Verkhovna Rada called on UNESCO, the parliaments and governments of its member states to initiate the necessary consultations to initiate the deprivation of Russia of membership in UNESCO and its bodies and to condemn the crimes committed by Russia against the cultural heritage of Ukraine, including world heritage sites.

The MPs request UNESCO to immediately send a mission to Odesa and Lviv to assess the damage caused by Russian attacks on World Heritage sites and determine UNESCO's assistance and possible actions to protect cultural heritage sites in Ukraine from Russian aggression.

In the appeal, the MPs listed the world heritage sites that were damaged as a result of Russian attacks in Odesa, Lviv and stressed that Russian missile attacks on these cities and Kyiv "pose a serious threat to world heritage sites, including the Hagia Sophia and related monastic structures, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the ensemble of the historical center of Lviv and the historical center of Odesa."