Mykola Tochytskyi, the Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, met in Strasbourg with Owen Bonnici, the Minister for National Heritage, the Arts, and the Local Government of Malta, to discuss cultural cooperation.
“Ukrainian culture, an integral part of European heritage, faces a grave threat from russian aggression. The destruction of our cultural heritage reflects the aggressor’s systematic attempts to erase Ukraine’s historical and cultural identity,” stated Mykola Tochytskyi.
The Minister expressed gratitude to Malta for promoting Ukrainian culture worldwide and underscored Ukraine’s readiness to strengthen cultural ties with Malta.
Mykola Tochytskyi expressed hope that culture, highlighted during Luxembourg’s Chairmanship of the Council of Europe this year, would stay a priority during Malta’s leadership in late 2025.
He announced plans to hold a conference of culture ministers from Council of Europe member states and G7 countries in February 2025 to coordinate international efforts to restore Ukraine’s cultural sector.
Ukraine’s Minister emphasized the importance of creating a “Cultural Ramstein”, a recurring platform for international partnerships to strengthen the cultural sector’s resilience. This initiative is a key element of Ukraine’s Domestic Resilience Plan, introduced by President Zelenskyy in the Verkhovna Rada on November 19, 2024. He also noted that the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, scheduled for July 2025, could be a pivotal opportunity to mobilize resources and global support for restoring Ukraine’s cultural heritage.
The Ministers also discussed plans to organize exhibitions across Europe featuring cultural artifacts from Ukrainian museums affected by russian aggression. This initiative, proposed during Malta’s Chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, aims to protect these invaluable artifacts and provide European audiences with a deeper understanding of Ukraine’s cultural heritage.
The meeting represented a significant advancement in strengthening cultural collaboration between Ukraine and Malta.
