The Foreign Ministry criticized UNESCO for refusing to recognize the shelling of the Lavra as an act of Russian aggression

Georgiy Tykhyi, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called UNESCO’s statement regarding the damage to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra absurd, as it makes no direct mention of Russia as the perpetrator of the attack. The organization, which is supposed to protect cultural heritage, failed to clearly identify who it is protecting it from. 

The Foreign Ministry emphasized that the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its destruction was the result of a deliberate Russian attack on Kyiv. The Ukrainian side called on international institutions to avoid language that obscures the aggressor state’s responsibility and to clearly identify the perpetrator of crimes against Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

The ministry’s spokesperson wrote about this on the social media platform X.