Ukraine has already recorded 242 instances of destruction of the Ukrainian cultural heritage by Russians. In particular, the invaders destroyed or damaged at least 92 religious buildings.
This was stated by the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova.
According to her, 16 monuments of national significance, 72 of local significance and 6 just discovered were destroyed and damaged.
Most of the damage caused to cultural heritage sites was accounted for in the Kharkiv region – they are 84, in Donetsk – 45, in Kyiv – 38, in Chernihiv – 24, in Luhansk – 17, in Sumy – 14.
The invaders destroyed or damaged 92 religious buildings, including 35 historical, architectural and urban planning monuments, 29 memorial monuments in honor of historical figures and events of the XIX –early XXI centuries, 19 buildings and complexes of museums and nature reserves, 33 cultural centers, theaters, libraries and other sites of valuable historical structures.
"By destroying our cultural heritage, the Russian Federation is trying to erase the national identity of the Ukrainian people. The aggressor troops violate Articles 4 and 5 of the Hague Convention for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict. Such actions of the aggressor, in accordance with Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, are a war crime," Denisova said.
She called on the UN Commission to investigate human rights violations during the Russian military invasion of Ukraine to take into account these facts of war crimes and Russian human rights violations in Ukraine.