Russian destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage declared genocide

The declaration by Europe’s oldest intergovernmental organisation founded to uphold rule of law across the continent includes a demand on the Russian Federation to pay reparations to Ukraine.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Council of Europe “deplored” Russian attacks on cultural heritage sites in Ukraine since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“Noting that more than a thousand cultural sites had been damaged or destroyed since the beginning of the war, the Congress underlined that the targeting and looting of cultural sites appeared to reflect a systematic policy aimed at erasing Ukraine’s historical and cultural identity, consistent with a genocidal intent,” the Council said.

It’s not the first time Russia’s war in Ukraine has been designated a genocide by international authorities. Multiple European national parliaments have already done so with the Council of Europe deeming Russia’s forced transfer of children as an act of genocide in 2023.

This new text frames the genocidal intent of Vladimir Putin’s war in the context of Russia’s destruction of Ukraine’s cultural heritage. Reparations to pay for the damage inflicted on historical, cultural and religious heritage are therefore in order, the Council continues.

Because of this declaration, the Council will now “put Ukrainian cultural heritage and its recovery high on the political agenda, including at the 2025 Ukraine Recovery Conference to be held in Rome.”

It was announced earlier this month that Italy will host the upcoming Ukraine Recovery Conference in July next year, as Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni confirmed the country’s solidarity and support for Ukraine.

Additionally, the Council called on European member states to ratify two conventions related to maintaining cultural heritage – the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (Faro Convention) and the Council of Europe Convention on Offences to Cultural Property (Nicosia Convention) – and to raise awareness of the damage to Ukraine’s culture.

For a long time, Ukraine has warned of the cost to the country’s cultural heritage that Russia’s war has wrought.

Solidarity stance

At the G7 meeting of culture ministers last month, the damage to Ukraine’s cultural heritage was discussed.

“We firmly condemn Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine and the widespread destruction of historic sites and cultural institutions,” they said, highlighting damage to “museums, theatres, libraries, archives, churches and other places of worship, threatening Ukrainian cultural identity”.

In the face of this destruction, the ministers pledged to “stand united in defending and promoting the resilience and regeneration of Ukrainian culture and cultural heritage, tangible and intangible”.

In the past year, Russia has amended its museum regulations to declare their collections inseparable, prohibiting the return of any cultural items to Ukraine. “Accompanied by the mass registration of occupied Ukrainian museums, this move effectively legalises wartime looting and prevents Ukraine from tracing down and returning its stolen heritage,” a spokesperson for the Ukrainian PR Army said.

“Russian authorities have reported ‘transferring’ 40,000 items from Ukrainian to Russian museums, intensifying the Russifying effect of schooling and ‘patriotic education’ according to Russian standards, aimed at erasing Ukrainian distinctiveness,” the Ukrainian PR Army has further said.

As of 2 October, UNESCO has verified damage to 451 sites of cultural heritage in Ukraine since the start of the war. Those damaged include 142 religious sites, 227 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 32 museums, 32 monuments, 17 libraries, and an archive.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Heritage is something that ensures a connection between the dead, the alive, and the not yet born,” PEN Ukraine president Volodymyr Yermolenko was quoted in a publication by Human Rights Watch on damage to cultural heritage in conflicts this year.

“Russian and Ukrainian forces have used explosive weapons extensively; the effects of Russian forces’ use on different types of cultural heritage in Ukraine is well documented; and culture is central to Ukrainian identity and to Russia’s stated war aims,” the report continues.