On September 23, during the official visit of the Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Mykola Tochytskyi, to the United States of America, the American side handed over cultural artifacts stolen by russia, which are from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
Photo by Volodymyr Ilchenko, Ukrinform
At the premises of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans, Robert Silvers, handed over four medieval iron sabers, dated to the 9th – 13th centuries, to Mykola Tochytskyi.
According to Robert Silvers, the items were discovered “when several customs and border officers at an international mail facility in Newark, New Jersey, saw a package that was allegedly labeled as a barbecue set.” The officers inspected and sent the package for further examination. “Then our experts contacted the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in Kyiv, shared the photos, and it was determined that these were cultural heritage items, treasures of Ukraine’s unique past,” he commented.
Photo by Volodymyr Ilchenko, Ukrinform
Another 7 valuable items are currently in the process of identification by Ukrainian experts based on the provided photographs.
“Each returned artifact is a small victory in our struggle for our identity and, ultimately, for our triumph. Our artifacts are a symbol of the idea of Ukraine, its aspiration for freedom and independence. And as long as we have our idea, we will live, fight, and win,” stated Mykola Tochytskyi.
The Minister added that the returned sabers are not just weapons, but a symbol of the deep historical connection of Ukrainians with their ancestors and of Ukrainian national strength.
Photo by Andrii Melnyk
This operation is the result of successful cooperation between the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, the Embassy of Ukraine in the U.S., the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, and the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
It should be noted that since June 2022, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in cooperation with other agencies under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has been conducting an operation to intercept cultural artifacts being sent by mail from russia to the USA. A previous batch of cultural artifacts confiscated by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection during this operation included Scythian akinakes from the 6th century B.C., a bronze sword from the 12th–8th centuries B.C., and other valuables that have already been returned to Ukraine. Notably, the most recent handover took place in September 2023 during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the USA.
Photo by Andrii Melnyk
