Ukraine calls for Russia's exclusion from UNESCO after the church and theater destruction in Chernihiv
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy (MCIP) issued a statement in its official release calling for the exclusion of the terrorist country, Russia, from UNESCO.
"We once again call on the global community to isolate the aggressor and finally deprive Russia of its membership in UNESCO," the statement reads.
Russia cynically shelled the historical center of the city of Chernihiv when citizens were returning from church service, as highlighted in the statement. They add: "As a result of an enemy missile hitting directly, the monument of local architectural significance, the Chernihiv Regional Academic Music and Drama Theater named after T. Shevchenko, was completely destroyed. The monument of national architectural significance, the Pyatnytska Church, also suffered damage. It falls under the responsibility of the National Architectural and Historical Reserve 'Ancient Chernihiv.'"
The MCIP informs that the historical center of Chernihiv, a city with a millennia-long history, is a candidate for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. For the Preliminary Nomination List, Ukraine submitted the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral of the 11th century and the Church of Saints Boris and Hlib of the 12th century.
"This year, together with regional and city administrations, the MCIP started working on including the cultural landscape of Chernihiv in the List of Cultural Heritage Sites at Risk," the statement reports.
The Ministry of Culture emphasizes that "the threat from Russian barbarians is only increasing. Russia, as a terrorist country, deliberately destroys the cultural heritage of Ukraine, causing irreparable losses not only to Ukrainian but also to global culture.
