In Kherson, “more than 80% of the collections of the two museums” were looted by Russian forces, according to BFMTV guest Oleksandr Tkachenko.
Museums under bombs. “More than 1000 cultural sites have been damaged” in Ukraine since the beginning of the war led by Russia in February, declared this Thursday on BFMTV Oleksandr Tkachenko, the Ukrainian Minister of Culture.
On December 23, Unesco, the UN agency in charge of culture, confirmed damage to 236 sites Ukrainian cultural sites since February 24: 102 religious buildings, 18 museums, 81 historical and/or artistic buildings, 19 monuments and 11 libraries.
“Museums have been looted,” denounced Oleksandr Tkachenko on BFMTV. In Kherson, for example, a city liberated in November after eight months of Russian occupation, “more than 80% of the collections of the two museums” were stolen, according to the minister.
“At least 450 objects” missing from the regional museum
The Kherson Regional Museum is one of four cultural establishments in the city to have been extensively looted during the occupation, denounced in December in a press release the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), referring to “war crimes”.
“The people of Kherson have already suffered months of torture and other abuses during the Russian occupation, and then saw their cultural and historical heritage being packed up and taken away,” said Belkis Wille, deputy director of the department. “Crises and Conflicts” from HRW.
“The Ukrainian people have the right to return all stolen items and to justice,” she added.
According to the international NGO, “at least 450 objects” have disappeared in total from the regional museum, including in particular precious “Scythian gold, Russian imperial medals and coins”, but also paintings, furniture or even military uniforms from Soviet times.
Mariupol theater destroyed
“This war is a war of territorial expansion but also of extermination of our identity,” said Oleksandr Tkachenko on Thursday. “It is our cultural identity that is targeted,” he added, mentioning the “tragic symbol” of the Mariupol theater.
In March, the Mariupol theater was destroyed, bombed by Russian forces while it housed “hundreds” of civilians, according to the town hall of the city. Moscow has not admitted carrying out this operation. According to the NGO Amnesty Internationalthis strike killed “a dozen” Ukrainian civilians, although it estimates that the true number of victims is probably higher.
On Friday, Oleksandr Tkachenko accused Russia of wanting to destroy evidence of his attack on the theater, posting a video showing an excavator destroying a wall. This city in southern Ukraine has been occupied by the Russians since May.
Theaters that keep running
“Despite all the obstacles and the attacks, we are continuing on all fronts, especially that of culture”, however affirmed on BFMTV the Ukrainian Minister of Culture.
“For example, our theaters continue to operate. We sent a generator to the Kherson theater just yesterday,” which is due to reopen soon, according to the minister.
The latter estimates that more than 50 premieres have been performed in Ukrainian theaters since the start of the war, in Odessa, Lviv and kyiv in particular. In addition, “50% of artists and workers in the cultural sphere have remained in the country and continue to work”, according to him.
“Artists travel to the front line and offer concerts to the military,” says the minister on BFMTV. A way of keeping culture alive, even in the trenches.
