Paris: Dozens of valuable churches, historic sites and museums have been damaged by war in Ukraine, said the United Nations Culture Agency on Friday, added that it was very worried about the city of Northern Chernihiv.
Last month UNESCO said it had supported protection measures for endangered Ukrainian cultural heritage in the light of Russian invasion, such as using the symbol of the “blue shield” to mark the cultural and monument sites.
“We are very concerned about the situation at the humanitarian and cultural heritage level. Heritage in hazard (in Ukraine),” Ernesto Ottone, Assistant Director General of UNESCO, said at a press conference.
First UNESCO, a list of introductory sites that are truly damaged or partly damaged featuring 29 religious sites, 16 historical buildings, four museums, and four monuments, he said.
UNESCO Chairman Audrey Azoulay wrote to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in early March to remind him that Russia was a signing of the Convention for the protection of cultural heritage during the war, said agency.
But there is no response so far, he added.
At this week’s talk, Moscow, who called his actions in Ukraine “special military operations”, said it would reduce the attack near Kyiv, the capital, and the nearest cities of Chernihiv, to build trust.
Kyiv and his allies said Russia pulled the troops out of the area, not as a gesture goodwill but to regroup, because they had taken a big loss.