They had to move immediately. As the sirens sounded, volunteers in Ukraine from Lvov to Odessa to Kharkiv tried to protect their cultural heritage from the looming danger of a Russian invasion. They covered the statues with sandbags, hid books, scrolls and paintings in safe places, and covered temple stained-glass windows with steel plates. There was such a stir that, judging by the first responses, the ancient manuscripts were packed in boxes designed to transport bananas to supermarkets. The fears, however, turned out to be well founded. For several months now, the war in Ukraine has affected and threatened the monuments and memory of the country.

Alexandra Xantaki, Professor of Law at Brunel University London, was elected in October 2021 to the position of Commissioner for Cultural Rights at the United Nations. From the first day of the war, he has been following the events in Ukraine with concern. “In times of war and crisis, we look at how lives will be saved. The Ukrainians themselves pushed us to see how we can preserve their heritage as well. We see that citizens risked their lives to preserve their identity and preserve their monuments,” she says in a telephone conversation with K. “It is important that their culture, their values, their customs, the way they see life be preserved. Culture is the bridge between the past and the future, and if the past is destroyed, the present and the future are uncertain and difficult.”

Ms. Xantaki points out that the Russian invasion violates the right to self-determination of the Ukrainian people. “The main reason Russia justifies the invasion has to do with cultural rights. Russia disputes that there is a Ukrainian people and Ukrainian culture,” he says.

The New York Times published a survey in which it reports that it has identified 339 monuments across the country that have suffered significant damage.

Already in the first weeks of the war, in February and March 2022, the international community expressed concern about the destruction of historical buildings and squares in Kharkiv, Chernihiv and other places. The image of the bombed-out theater in Mariupol, where civilians took refuge and died, is one of the most indicative of this war. In early May, Leyla Ibragimova, director of the Melitopol Museum of Local Lore, told international media how she and other employees hid items in the basement to save them while she herself was interrogated by the Russian military for several hours. The Ukrainian authorities then stated that more than 190 Scythian gold items had been stolen from the museum.

In connection with this news, the Minister of Culture of Greece, Lina Mendoni, said at the time that the Council of Ministers of Culture of the European Union was asked to take immediate action. “We asked to take measures to protect the cultural heritage of Ukraine, namely the creation of a Red Book to prevent their illegal circulation, the creation of a platform for collecting information about robberies and thefts of cultural property, as well as to take initiatives to take legal and institutional measures,” he said. In May, Ms. Xantakis, in her statement, also noted the multi-level violation of cultural rights in Ukraine: “Like in other conflicts, we are witnessing an endless tragedy,” he said.

The number of affected heritage sites varies depending on the source of the information. It is estimated that the extent of the disaster cannot yet be ascertained with absolute certainty as relevant investigations and recordings continue. Recently, the American newspaper New York Times published its study, which states that it was able to find 339 monuments across the country, which suffered significant damage. These include, in particular, libraries, statues, churches, museums. In at least 77 cases, they indicate the complete destruction of buildings, collections and objects.

Ms. Xantaki explains that in cases where the destruction of cultural heritage is being investigated, the biggest difficulty is to prove that everything was done intentionally, that there was intent and that the damage did not occur as collateral damage. The Ukrainian side announced targeted attacks on the country’s heritage. The UN Special Commissioner for Greece notes that she is also looking to the day this war ends, to the implications it could have on the creation of a peaceful, multicultural society.