Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, at least 38 Ukrainian museums with 1.5 million works have been damaged or destroyed. The number of destroyed museum exhibits was reported by Mariana Tomyn, Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the ICIP, for The Economist, UNN reports.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, at least 38 Ukrainian museums containing 1.5 million works have been damaged or destroyed. Many Ukrainian museums relied on paper catalogs, which are often outdated or incomplete, making it difficult to count what Russia has looted and destroyed.
Details
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy notes that the data on destroyed museum exhibits is approximate, as not all museum values are digitized. Most regional museums relied on paper catalogs, often outdated or incomplete. During the occupation, some of these catalogs disappeared. That is why the efforts to digitize museum property, which began in Ukraine three years ago, have now gained new relevance.
According to the article, the occupiers took more than 28,000 artifacts from the Kherson Museum alone. Ancient coins, Greek sculptures, Scythian jewelry, a precious Bukhara saber, and even hard drives with the museum's catalog have disappeared.
It is almost impossible to put a price on the stolen works, as only a fraction of the museum's valuables have been appraised for insurance purposes. Last April , the UN estimated that the war had caused $2.6 billion worth of damage to Ukraine's cultural heritage.
ЮНЕСКО засудили російські обстріли освітніх та культурних об’єктів України05.01.24, 23:17
The Ministry of Culture estimates that more than 480,000 works of art have fallen into Russian hands. At least 38 museums with nearly 1.5 million works were damaged or destroyed.
Ukraine will seek compensation. Kyiv Prosecutor's Office is investigating Russian officials and Ukrainians involved in the theft. Mariana Tomin told reporters that she is working on a new law on restitution and revising the outdated law on the protection of cultural heritage. And since the end of October, a special army unit has begun to monitor the damage to cultural sites. But there is little hope of returning what the occupiers have stolen.
Recall
Earlier, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy reported, that 872 monuments of Ukraine's cultural heritage have been destroyed or damaged due to Russian aggression in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
In addition, as of December 25, 2023, 1907 cultural infrastructure facilities suffered losses. Total losses of state-owned cultural institutions: 23 objects (9%); communal ownership: 1884 objects (6%).