UNESCO on Thursday published an updated assessment of the damage caused to cultural sites in Ukraine since 24 February 2022, when the Russian offensive began.
So far, 152 cultural and historic heritage sites in Ukraine have been fully or partially destroyed since Russia began its invasion on February 24, experts from the UN’s cultural agency, UNESCO said.
“According to the checks carried out by its experts, 152 cultural sites have been partially or totally destroyed as a result of the fighting, including 70 religious buildings, 30 historical buildings, 18 cultural centres, 15 monuments, 12 museums and seven libraries,” UNESCO said.
Among the damaged or destroyed sites are museums and monuments, churches and other religious buildings, and libraries and other exceptional buildings, UNESCO said in an updated assessment on Thursday.
According to UNESCO, three-quarters of the damaged sites are in three regions: the Donetsk region, where the fighting is still particularly intense – with 45 damaged cultural sites – the Kharkiv region – with 40 damaged sites – and the Kyiv region – with 26 damaged sites.
Russian troops or officials who are found to have knowingly damaged Ukraine heritage sites could be prosecuted under international law, UNESCO has warned.
Both Russia and Ukraine are signatories to the 1954 Hague convention on culture in armed conflicts, which aims to prevent cultural assets being the target of military actions.
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