Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has included a wide range of attacks on Ukrainian heritage sites as the Kremlin seeks to erase Ukraine’s cultural identity. By September 2024, UNESCO had officially verified damage to 438 cultural sites in Ukraine including religious buildings, museums, libraries, and monuments.
Writing earlier this year, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said these attacks were to be expected. “The Russian thirst for the destruction of Ukrainian heritage comes as no surprise,” he noted. “It ties in to the campaign of assaulting Ukraine’s national identity; for assaulting the people’s knowledge of their history, origin, and culture is like cutting roots from a tree.”
Kyiv Security Forum Director Danylo Lubkivsky is one of many Ukrainian commentators to echo this sentiment. “Once the invasion began, it was immediately apparent that this was a war against every aspect of Ukrainian national identity including language, culture, and heritage,” he stated in a March 2024 article.
Russia’s assault on Ukrainian cultural identity has attracted considerable international concern, with numerous governments voicing their alarm and offering support to Ukraine. For example, the United States has recently unveiledplans to impose tough restrictions on the illicit trade in Ukraine’s cultural artifacts.
Voice of Ukraine 