UNESCO: The war has caused damage to Ukraine's cultural heritage amounting to billions of dollars

Kyiv - A year of Russia's war against Ukraine has caused damage to the cultural heritage of the attacked country amounting to 2.6 billion dollars (approximately 56 billion CZK), the Russian edition of the BBC reported today, citing data published on the occasion of the visit of the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Audrey Azoulay to Kyiv.

"I can imagine the losses, the loss of human lives during the war and everything you are going through. I appreciate that you place great importance on the human dimension of events and the defense of culture and education," Azoulay stated. "We know that this defines Ukraine as a country, and our mission at UNESCO is to stand by your side, to stand with the Ukrainian people and defend their cultural heritage," she added.

According to the report compiled with the assistance of the UN, World Bank, European Commission, and Ukrainian government, cultural heritage in Ukraine was damaged during the first year of the war to the tune of 2.6 billion dollars. The report covers the period from February 24, 2022, when Russian troops invaded the neighboring country on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, to February 24 of this year.

According to UNESCO, about 1.7 billion dollars of the mentioned damages pertain to historical sites, buildings, and places of cultural and social significance. An additional 650 million dollars represents damage to tourist sites, 143 million pertains to art collections, and 150 million to buildings and workshops related to creative activities. The Kharkiv region was the worst affected in this regard, accounting for about 30 percent of all cultural losses.

UNESCO pointed out that if the loss estimate also took into account lost income from tourism and sports and other events, as well as entrance fees at galleries and museums, the total amount of damages would rise to 15.2 billion dollars (almost 327 billion CZK), added the BBC.