“This is the most recent list, but it is not exhaustive, as our experts continue to verify a number of reports” submitted by the Ukrainian authorities, a UNesco spokesman told AFP as the body published a list of the 53 damaged. locations in the north and east of the country. The spokesman said that Unesco used satellite images and witness reports from the site to verify the information provided by the Ukrainian authorities. Unesco sites that have been damaged include more than a dozen areas in eastern Kharkiv, which has been the scene of intense Russian fires, ranging from churches to state-of-the-art cultural heritage sites. Five are located in the capital, Kyiv, while another five are located in the Chernihiv region of northern Ukraine, which is home to a complex of historic sites. Unesco said a total of 29 religious sites, 16 historic buildings, four museums and four monuments were confirmed to have been damaged. The list does not include information from the besieged city of Mariupol or the city of Kherson, which has been occupied by Russia. None of those confirmed to have been damaged are on the list of Unesco World Heritage Sites in Ukraine, such as Hagia Sophia or the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. However, the historic center of Chernihiv is on the provisional list, which means that Ukraine wants to be considered a World Heritage Site. This week, the mayor of Chernihiv accused Russian forces of stepping up their bombing of the besieged city, despite claims that the Kremlin would back down in respect of ongoing peace talks. In a letter sent on March 17, a copy of which was received by Agence France-Presse, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay reminded Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia’s obligations to protect its cultural heritage during international conflicts. contract. “Any violation of these rules will bring the perpetrators to international responsibility,” he said, adding that Unesco would closely monitor the state of Ukraine’s cultural heritage. The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture on Friday took issue with the same issue, saying it had recorded 135 cases of Russian troops committing crimes against Ukraine’s cultural heritage since the start of the war, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. The agency said the crimes included the destruction of a local history museum in the Kiev region, the bombing of a theater in Mariupol, a southern port city besieged by Moscow for almost a month, and the destruction of a Holocaust memorial in Kharkov in eastern Ukraine.
