Vice Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture of Ukraine Tetyana Berezhna delivered an online address at the meeting of the Committee on Culture, Science, Education and Media of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The event was also attended by Member of the Ukrainian Parliament and Deputy Chairman of the the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy Yevheniia Kravchuk.
The Vice Prime Minister informed the international community about the unprecedented scale of destruction of Ukraine’s cultural heritage caused by russia’s armed aggression and emphasized the need to deepen international cooperation to protect it.
“Ukraine is now in the fourth year of the full-scale war launched by russia. Every day, russians deliberately target Ukrainian historical heritage sites and cultural institutions. More than 1.7 million museum objects remain under occupation, tens of thousands have been stolen or destroyed, and 1,612 cultural heritage sites have been damaged or wiped out as a result of russian attacks,” Tetyana Berezhna stressed.
Ukraine closely cooperates with UNESCO, the European Union, the OSCE, Interpol, Europol, and partner states to document crimes, counter the illicit trafficking of cultural property, and return stolen assets. Among the key achievements are the creation of the Emergency Red List Ukraine and the return of collections from four Crimean museums following the decision of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands. The Vice Prime Minister also called on partners to impose sanctions on individuals and institutions involved in the illegal removal and exploitation of Ukrainian collections.
Tetyana Berezhna also reported on the strengthening of internal mechanisms for protecting Ukraine’s cultural heritage. Since 2022, more than 670,000 museum and library items have been evacuated, new registries have been introduced, and a specialized unit for the protection of cultural heritage has been established within the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Among the key initiatives, she highlighted the creation of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund and the formation of the Cultural Resilience Alliance. Tetiana Berezhna also noted the opening of the UNESCO Office in Ukraine, which provides a permanent coordination and technical mechanism under wartime conditions.
