Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been waging a war that goes beyond the military battlefield: it directly targets the identity and memory of the Ukrainian people. By systematically bombing civilian and cultural infrastructure, it violates international humanitarian law and commits war crimes, for which those responsible will have to be held accountable in court.
Destroying a museum, a library, or a theater is an attempt to erase a country’s history and culture. Russia’s aggression is not limited to strategic or military infrastructure; it also targets places that embody Ukraine’s intellectual and artistic richness.
The Mariupol Theater, bombed by the Russian army on March 16, 2022. ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP
According to UNESCO, 485 cultural sites have been damaged or destroyed since February 2022. Among them:
- 149 religious buildings
- 33 museums
- 249 historical and artistic buildings
- 33 monuments
- 18 libraries
- 1 archive and 2 archaeological sites
In the face of this attempt at annihilation, preserving and promoting Ukrainian art becomes an act of remembrance and resistance.
Cover photo: Mariupol, AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka
