The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance calls for Russia to be expelled from UNESCO following attacks on Ukraine’s cultural heritage
The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINR) has called on the international community to expel Russia from UNESCO due to its systematic attacks on cultural heritage sites in Ukraine.
This is stated in a post by the UINP on Facebook.
“We call on the international community to take concerted action to end the unprovoked war against Ukraine: the killing and abduction of children, civilians, and military personnel; Russia’s destruction of European cultural heritage in Ukraine; and to put an end to the systematic disregard for international law. Over the years of full-scale invasion, Russia has deliberately destroyed and damaged over 1,600 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine. Putin’s regime is waging a war to destroy Ukraine,” the statement emphasizes.
The UIP calls on everyone to sign an open appeal, which will be sent to UNESCO and international partners in the coming days with the aim of expelling Russia from the organization.
The institution emphasizes that the constant attacks on cultural heritage protected by UNESCO are a deliberate policy of the Kremlin aimed at destroying Ukrainian national memory and cultural identity. As part of this policy, Russian troops attacked Lviv with drones on March 24, damaging buildings in the city center and a residential high-rise.
On March 24, during a Russian drone attack in Lviv, the Bernardine Monastery complex—an architectural monument of national significance—was damaged.
In addition to the historical monument, strikes on critical infrastructure facilities in the Komarny and Dobrosyn-Maheriv communities of Lviv Oblast were recorded. Thirteen people were injured as a result of the enemy attack. The Bernardine Monastery complex, built in the early 17th century, is a remarkable example of Renaissance, Mannerist, and Baroque architecture, comprising a church, cells, and defensive walls with a tower.
On March 24, Russian occupiers launched a massive attack on western regions of Ukraine using kamikaze drones. In Lviv, one of the drones struck a building in the city center, causing a fire.
This attack was part of a large-scale air offensive by the Russian Federation that on March 24 targeted several regions of Ukraine, including critical infrastructure facilities in the rear areas.
