“The Destruction of Cultural Heritage in Ukraine: How to Hold Russia Accountable?” — Key Points from the Briefing

On Monday, March 24th, the Center for Civil Liberties, in collaboration with the Coalition of Cultural Actors, held a panel discussion on the urgent need to preserve Ukraine’s cultural heritage in the face of Russia’s ongoing aggression. The discussion, titled “The Destruction of Cultural Heritage: How to Hold Russia Accountable?”, brought together leading experts to analyze the extent of the damage, assess state responses, and propose strategies for protecting and restoring Ukraine’s heritage.

The invited speakers were:

• Oleksandra Romantsova – Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties
• Olga Sagaidak – Chairwoman of the Board, NGO “Coalition of Cultural Actors”
• Vitalii Tytych – Chairman of the Board, Raphael Lemkin Society; Head of the Legal Section, ICOM Ukraine
• Anastasiia Cherednychenko – Chairwoman, ICOM Ukraine; PhD, Historian
• Daryna Pidhorna – Lawyer, Regional Center for Human Rights

During a brief introduction into the topic from Oleksandra Romantsova, Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties, she mentioned that one of the consequences of this war had a great effect on the international understanding on historical heritage. Since 2014, Russia has systematically targeted Ukrainian cultural heritage sites, with the situation escalating dramatically after the full-scale invasion in 2022.

The first presentation was held by Olga Sagaidak, stating that as of February 2025, approximately 1,390 cultural monuments have been completely or partially destroyed, and more than 4 million movable cultural objects may require restoration. She highlighted that the most affected regions include Kharkiv, Kherson, Donetsk, and Odesa, where extensive shelling and occupation have led to the loss of nearly 2 million state-owned cultural artifacts. Coordination between government agencies, cultural institutions, and international partners is insufficient, and evacuation efforts for endangered artifacts are hindered by bureaucratic inefficiencies and a lack of clear priorities. The Coalition addressed an open letter to the Minister of Culture to draw the attention of the authorities and the public to these issues, which prompted the ministry to take action.

Next speaker, Anastasiia Cherednychenko, Chair of ICOM Ukraine, highlighted the immense challenge of explaining Russia’s systematic war crimes against Ukrainian heritage to the international community. She emphasized that Russian museums play a crucial role in the aggressive state policy of the RF. They are effectively used as cognitive weapons not only in the Russian-Ukrainian war but also in Russia’s international policy.

The museum sector in the Russian Federation is overseen by Sergey Naryshkin, the Director of Foreign Intelligence. Under his initiative and with the support of the Russian Historical Foundation, which he heads, an Intermuseum Group was created. Members of this group, consisting of museum employees, travel across temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, collecting items to glorify the so-called “Special Military Operation”—that is, the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Using these looted artifacts, Russian museums organize propaganda exhibitions such as “Ordinary Nazism,” “Ordinary NATOcism” (a combination of NATO and Nazism), and “NATO: Chronicles of Cruelty.” These exhibitions misinform visitors, portraying Ukraine and its allies as aggressors from whom Russia is supposedly forced to defend itself.

Anastasiia pointed out that some of these looted artifacts, including items from the Mariupol Drama Theater, have been added to the Russian State Museum Fund. Additionally, a recently adopted Russian law mandates that museum collections from occupied Ukrainian territories be incorporated into Russia’s state museum fund, effectively legitimizing the theft of cultural property.

With the support and supervision of Sergey Naryshkin, Russian museum professionals use propaganda exhibitions and projects in Ukrainian museums located in temporarily occupied territories to erase and replace the culture and history not only of Ukrainians but also of national minorities and indigenous peoples, including Crimean Tatars, Krymchaks, and Karaites. Russian international museum exhibitions and projects are similarly controlled by secret services. 

Cherednychenko pointed out that international pressure, particularly through ICOM’s advocacy, has led to boycotts of Russian museums by countries such as Germany, Austria, and Lithuania, demonstrating the global cultural community’s resistance to Russia’s historical revisionism.

Daryna Pidhorna, a lawyer from the Regional Center for Human Rights, emphasized that Russia’s cultural policy in the occupied territories is a tool of ideological warfare. Since 2015, Russia has started developing and legislatively reinforcing protectionist narratives, systematically using education and academic institutions to legitimize its occupation, inviting its own experts to conduct lectures and conferences aimed at convincing local populations of the legality of Russian actions. The Russian government claims ownership of all cultural objects in the occupied territories, allowing them to freely plunder Ukraine’s historical heritage. Between 2015 and 2023, Russian authorities sanctioned over 1,385 archaeological excavations in Crimea alone, resulting in the removal of approximately five million artifacts, with an additional seven million taken during the excavations in the UNESCO site “Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora” between 2021 and 2023. Ukrainian experts, in cooperation with intelligence services, are tracking these looted items and identifying those complicit, including local collaborators and Russian officials. 

Daryna Pidhorna called for stronger and faster international sanctions against individuals involved in these crimes, stressing that the destruction of cultural heritage is not only about physical loss — it also erases history and weakens national identity. She emphasized the need to find ways to reintegrate occupied populations mentally and culturally into Ukraine, as many have been subjected to years of Russian ideological influence.

The last speech was given by Vitalii Tytych, Chairman of the Raphael Lemkin Society and Head of the Legal Section of ICOM Ukraine, who outlined the crucial role of legal action in preserving Ukraine’s cultural heritage. He highlighted the efforts to collect and preserve evidence of cultural destruction, particularly through collaboration with the Armed Forces, as frontline investigators are unable to access many sites. 

Tytych emphasized the need for criminal accountability, stressing that the protection of Ukrainian heritage is impossible without recognizing Russia’s actions as crimes. He pointed out the weaknesses in the international legal system and the challenges in prosecuting these crimes but expressed hope that raising awareness would lead to stronger global protection for cultural property. Vitalii also discussed the work of the Legal Section of ICOM, which includes creating and maintaining for AFU a Digital Map of protected cultural objects, tracking their destruction, which provides a platform for legal justice. “It is important to understand that Russian destruction of cultural heritage is not merely collateral damage, but an intentional, ideologically driven crime”, stated Vitalii.