Russian attacks have damaged at least 53 historical sites, religious buildings and museums in Ukraine, and the number is likely higher, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said.
“This is the latest list, but it is not exhaustive as our experts continue to review a number of reports” submitted by Ukrainian authorities, a UNESCO spokesman told AFP as the body released a list of the 53 sites which it has confirmed damage .
The UN agency is using satellite imagery and witness reports from the scene to verify information from Ukrainian authorities about locations hit by shells or other damage.
None of Ukraine’s seven UNESCO World Heritage sites have yet verified damage, but several sites on the “tentative” list of sites the agency plans to add have been hit. In particular, the historic center of Chernihiv, known for its ancient monasteries, has been bombed almost continuously since the Russian invasion on February 24. Five different locations were damaged there, the agency said.
Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is seen from a surrounding wall tower in Kyiv, Ukraine, March 26, 2022. AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda
Destroyed residential buildings after Russian military shelling in Zhytomyr, Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Yaghobzadeh Alfred/Abaca/Sipa US
A man walks past a damaged building in Mariupol April 1, 2022.CHINE NOUVELLE/SIPA/Shutterstock
UNESCO also named over a dozen, including churches, in the eastern Kharkiv region, which has been under intense Russian shelling since the war began. Five other damaged sites are located in the capital, Kyiv.
In total, damage was confirmed to 29 religious sites, 16 historical buildings, four museums and four monuments.
The list does not include information from the besieged city of Mariupol or the city of Kherson captured by Russia.
Ukraine’s Culture Ministry on Friday said the number of “crimes against Ukraine’s cultural heritage” stood at 135, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported. That list included the bombed theater in Mariupol, where at least 300 people seeking protection were killed, and the damage to a Holocaust memorial in Kharkiv.