UNESCO released a statement [7] July 23 condemning Russian strikes on the Ukrainian port of Odesa, and especially damage to World Heritage Sites, including the city's 18th-century Transfiguration Cathedral, which is within the Historic Centre of Odesa [8] World Heritage Site.
UNESCO's Director-General Audrey Azoulay stated:
This outrageous destruction marks an escalation of violence against [the] cultural heritage of Ukraine. I strongly condemn this attack against culture, and I urge the Russian Federation to take meaningful action to comply with its obligations under international law, including the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the 1972 World Heritage Convention.
Russia has denied responsibility for the damage to the Transfiguration Cathedral, with Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying [11], "Our armed forces never strike social infrastructure facilities, let alone temples, churches and other such structures, so we do not accept such accusations. They are absolute lies." Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova blamed [12] Ukrainian military forces for the damage: "[T]he damage to the Transfiguration Cathedral is...on the conscience of the Kiev regime and incompetent operators of air defense systems, which are deliberately deployed by the Ukrainian army in residential quarters, and the defense ministry has already confirmed this." Zakharova went on to claim "the UNESCO secretariat hold[s] a biased position on the situation in Ukraine."
Tensions between UNESCO and Russia have been ramping up since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022. UNESCO classified [13] Odesa's historic center as bot a World Heritage Site and a "World Heritage in Danger site" tis January, raising concerns over potential damage due to the war. Russia attempted to delay the vote on this classification several times.
Shortly after the vote, Russia alleged [14] that UNESCO facilitated the removal of religious relics from Ukraine. EUvsDisinfo [15], an organization sponsored by the diplomatic service of the European Union, disputed [16] the claims, calling them "disinformation." In November 2022, UNESCO released a report [17] finding that 207 important Ukrainian cultural sites had been damaged by the war.
The intentional destruction of "cultural heritage" is a war crime under the 1954 Hague Convention [18] for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the 1972 World Heritage Convention [19]. The European Parliament has alleged [20] that Russia's destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage sites is deliberate, with the Ukrainian Culture Minister corroborating [21] the allegations.
From Jurist [22], July 24. Used with permission.
See our last reports on the bombardmet of Odesa [23] and war crimes accusations [24] against Russia.
