Unesco fears for Ukraine's heritage as reports 160 sites have been damaged in bombardment

UN's cultural body warns of international consequences

A theatre in Mariupol is one of the cultural sites destroyed in the war in Ukraine. Reuters

With reports of more than 160 historical sites having already been damaged or destroyed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UN’s cultural agency is stressing the importance of protecting the world’s heritage during times of conflict.

In the 40 years since Unesco held the first World Heritage Day for monuments and historical sites, its work has become more important than ever as conflicts threaten sites around the globe, say officials.

During the ISIS occupation of Mosul in northern Iraq between 2014 and 2017, 80 per cent of the city’s historic sites were destroyed. Restoration work began in March.

Unesco – in partnership with the UAE – is restoring Al Nouri Mosque, Al Hadba minaret and Al Saa’a and Al Tahera churches.

The UN agency has also teamed up with the EU to rebuild 122 historic Mosul houses.

But just weeks before reconstruction work began there in March, Russia invaded Ukraine, putting yet more historic sites in jeopardy.

“We are extremely concerned about the development of the situation,” Unesco told The National.

“Very serious information has come to us, concerning other cultural sites.”

Ukraine’s culture ministry has recorded 166 cultural sites which have been destroyed or damaged as a result of Russian attacks.

Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko is this week in discussions with western governments to establish a joint fund to restore Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

“There are already 166 cultural heritage sites that were destroyed or damaged in the Russian invasion,” he said.

“We don't know about some of the objects yet, because they are located in the occupied territories. There is evidence, we are verifying these data, and it is obvious that we are talking about reparations and restoration by the aggressor state.

“I [have] spoken with the French minister of culture. We discussed the need for creating a joint fund of our countries, countries that support us, which would be engaged in renewing and restoring cultural heritage in Ukraine after the victory.

“This is a matter of extreme importance, because the first thing Putin is fighting against, if we are not talking about people, is against culture, against our history.”

Already more than 100 international heritage organisations have refused to work with Russian cultural agencies.

Mr Tkachenko has been supported by Audrey Azoulay, director general of Unesco, who has sent a formal letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reminding him of the obligations of the Russian Federation and indicating the location of Ukrainian heritage sites to protect them from any bombardment.

Ukraine has seven protected sites on the World Heritage list and has many more historical places it wishes to add.

It has led Unesco to highlight areas on the world stage to protect them during the continuing conflict.

They include:

· St Sophia Cathedral & Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

· Lviv Historic Centre Ensemble

· Struve Geodetic Arc

· Virgin Beech Forests of the Carpathians

· Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans

· Wooden Churches of the Carpathian Region

· Chersonese

But despite them not sustaining damage so far, many more museums and religious institutions have been lost.

In the city of Kharkiv “at least 30 heritage buildings have been destroyed or seriously damaged,” Unesco said.

“The cities of Chernihiv and Odesa, inscribed on Ukraine's World Heritage Tentative List, are also hit by the bombardments. The Mariupol theatre was devastated. We also know that 25 paintings by the famous Ukrainian painter Maria Primachenko disappeared in a fire.”

“This is the latest list, but it is not exhaustive, as our experts are continuing to verify a number of reports.”

It has been using satellite images and witness reports from the scene to verify the information provided by the Ukrainian authorities.

The sites Unesco said have been damaged include over a dozen in the eastern Kharkiv region, which has come under intense Russian fire, ranging from churches to more modern heritage sites.

Five are in the capital Kyiv and five are in the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine, which is home to a cluster of historic sites.

Others include the bombing of a theatre in the southern port of Mariupol, where more than 300 people are believed to have been killed when it was hit, and a Holocaust memorial in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine.

It has verified damage to 90 sites, including 44 religious buildings, six museums, 25 historical buildings, three theatres, 11 monuments and one library.

None of those confirmed as damaged are on the list of Unesco world heritage sites in Ukraine, such as the Saint-Sophia Cathedral or the monastic buildings of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

Unesco team takes emergency action to protect Ukraine's culture

Unesco has taken emergency measures in Ukraine to try to protect the sites.

It sent a team to identify safe refuges where artefacts can be safely stored and protected.

“We are in permanent contact with all relevant institutions, as well as with Ukrainian cultural professionals, to assess the situation, to identify needs and to reinforce the protection of cultural properties,” Unesco said.

“We help Ukrainian authorities to mark cultural sites and monuments with the distinctive Blue Shield emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention, to avoid deliberate or accidental damages.”

It has also put out a warning to those trading in cultural artefacts to be on guard against looters attempting to illicitly traffic and sell priceless pieces.

“In times of armed conflict, measures to protect cultural heritage should be reinforced,” it said.

“We are calling upon professionals and the public involved in the trade of cultural property to refrain from acquiring or taking part in the import, export or transfer of ownership of cultural property when they have reasonable cause to believe that the objects have been stolen, illegally alienated, clandestinely excavated or illegally exported from Ukraine.”

Unesco's restoration of damaged buildings globally

Unesco is already preparing for the long years ahead to restore the damage.

It has been pivotal in helping to restore and rebuild sites destroyed across the globe, including in Mosul and Beirut.

“In Mosul, after three years of intense preparatory work — mine clearance, rubble clearance, archaeological excavations, sorting of debris to recover all elements with heritage value, technical studies — the active phase of reconstruction works began in March for the three iconic monuments,” Unesco said.

Following the port explosions in Beirut in 2020, swift action by Unesco has resulted in almost 300 educational sites being restored.

“We launched the Li Beirut initiative just after the dramatic explosions,” it told The National.

“It is a project for education, but it is based on the same principles: call for international solidarity, fund-raising and reconstruction works.

“Only eighteen months after the start of this initiative, we have just completed all the rehabilitation of the 280 educational institutions that had been damaged.”

Next month the World Heritage Centre will publish its list of world heritage sites they recommend that the World Heritage Committee places on the Danger List for 2022. It is expected more sites in Ukraine will now be added.

For now, Ms Azoulay has issued a stark warning to those involved in destroying world heritage.

“Any violation of these norms will see the perpetrators brought to international responsibility,” she said, adding that Unesco is watching the state of cultural heritage in Ukraine closely.