UNESCO granted enhanced protection to five more cultural heritage sites in Ukraine

The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy (MCIP) reported this on December 14.

The sites encompass cultural heritage monuments located in Odesa, Chernihiv, Lviv, and Transcarpathian regions:

- Wooden Churches of the Carpathian Region. Archangel Michael Church, Uzhok, Transcarpathian region;
- Wooden Churches of the Carpathian Region. Wooden Church of St. George, Drohobych, Lviv region;
- Building of the Odesa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater;
- Building of the Odesa Regional Philharmonic named after David Oistrakh;
- Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernihiv.

Anastasiia Bondar, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Information Policy, who participated in the Committee meeting online, presented the list of objects submitted by Ukraine, noting significant losses of cultural infrastructure and heritage objects due to Russian aggression.

"Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has launched over 10,000 missiles and drones into Ukraine. As a result, more than 1,700 cultural infrastructure objects and over 870 cultural heritage sites in the country have been damaged or destroyed. I believe that together with the UNESCO community, we will create a strong support network where cultural heritage unites us stronger than any force trying to divide us," Bondar emphasized.

Also participating in the Committee meeting on the protection of cultural heritage in the event of armed conflict was the Head of the Monitoring Sector for temporarily occupied territories of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, Lina Doroshenko.

She highlighted that currently, 25 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine enjoy the highest level of protection from military attacks and threats. This decision will increase the security of these objects during wartime, potentially allowing competent authorities of all 88 state parties to the Second Protocol of 1999 to prosecute or extradite suspected offenders.

Doroshenko underscored that by initiating the inclusion of cultural heritage sites under enhanced protection, Ukraine has taken an important step in fulfilling its obligations under the implementation of the provisions of the 1954 Hague Convention and its protocols.

Granting enhanced protection to Ukraine's cultural heritage sites has set a precedent in the application of the Second Protocol procedure, being the first time it was applied not in peacetime but during wartime.