Russian occupiers have stolen more than 35,000 exhibits from Ukrainian museums, while another more than 2.3 million cultural valuables remain in temporarily occupied territories under threat of looting and destruction. This was reported by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on the occasion of the International Day against the Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Property, UNN writes.
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According to the foreign minister, Russia is systematically destroying and appropriating Ukraine’s cultural heritage, attempting to erase Ukrainians’ national identity.
The museums of Kherson suffered particularly extensive losses. From just two of the city’s museums, Russian forces removed 33,440 items, including more than 10,000 works of art from the Oleksii Shovkunenko Kherson Art Museum.
This was called an "evacuation." In reality, it was blatant looting
Ukraine demands the return of stolen cultural valuables
The minister stressed that Russian aggression extends far beyond hostilities, and that the theft of museum collections is part of a broader campaign against Ukrainian culture and history.
Russia steals Ukrainian works of art, tears them from their historical context, and then attempts to appropriate our cultural heritage. The theft of Ukrainian art does not make it Russian
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is currently hosting an exhibition of artistic reproductions of works stolen from the Kherson Art Museum. It is intended to draw international attention to the scale of the looting of Ukrainian cultural valuables.
Sybiha called on the international community to take coordinated action to return the stolen exhibits and bring those responsible to justice.
Every stolen cultural object must be returned to Ukraine. Russia will inevitably be held accountable for its crimes against our cultural heritage
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