The UN cultural organization UNESCO uses before and after satellite imagery to document damage and destruction to cultural institutions in Ukraine. As of Wednesday, it had listed 207 damaged sites. The information will be collected on a specially created online platform, which will initially be available to experts, but will soon be open to the public, as the director of the department of culture and emergency situations, Krista Pikkat, said on Wednesday.
Among other things, it shows the theater in Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians sought refuge shortly after the start of the war in March. On March 16, Russian bombs destroyed much of the building. The images evaluated by UNESCO are from 9 March and 12 May. According to Pikkat, the seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ukraine have so far been spared.
For the assessment, UNESCO is collaborating with Unosat in Geneva, the satellite observation program of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). When UNESCO receives information about damage to museums, churches, synagogues, libraries or monuments and historic sites, Unosat purchases satellite imagery from commercial providers, taken as closely as possible before and after an attack. According to Unosat, these images cost between 250 and more than 1,000 euros, depending on the purchase.
Experts prepare satellite images to show the exact destruction. The images will document the timing and extent of the destruction, among other things to help make plans for rebuilding, Pikkat said.