UNESCO Says Russian Attack On Ukraine Damaged 53 Cultural Sites

Illustrations serangan Russia hancurkan Donetsk Regional Drama Theater of Mariupol, Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons / Donetsk Regional Military Administration)

JAKARTA - More than a month after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, apart from causing deaths, injuries and massive displacement, many buildings and infrastructure in Ukraine were also affected by the attacks, including cultural sites.

The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has left 53 cultural sites damaged, UNESCO said on Friday last week.

Among the buildings are 29 churches, 16 historical buildings, four museums and four monuments, UNESCO Deputy Director General of Culture Ernesto Ottone Ramirez said in Paris.

Kharkiv in the northeast of the country is one of the most affected regions of Ukraine in this regard.

Ottone Ramirez said that among the buildings hit by the bombings were the Holocaust Memorial, the State Theater for Opera and Ballet and the Art Museum. It is known that Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, despite being under threat, there has been no evidence of damage to the country's seven UNESCO world heritage sites located in Kyib, which include St. Sophia and the Cave Monastery.

The situation in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, which has been cut off from the surrounding countryside by Russian troops, is considered extremely complicated.

Chernihiv is one of the oldest cities in Ukraine with many churches and monasteries dating from the 10th to 19th centuries. Among these buildings is the Church of St. Catherine, which is included in the UNESCO list with more than 53 buildings destroyed and damaged.

To note, since the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine, UNESCO and other international cultural institutions have launched several initiatives to protect cultural sites and assets, including setting up a satellite monitoring system of important Ukrainian sites and monuments.