Three of Ukraine’s most important heritage sites have been added to UNESCO’s official List of World Heritage in Danger amid mounting fears over Russia’s widespread bombing of Ukrainian cultural landmarks and civilian targets. The decision to list Kyiv’s St. Sophia Cathedral and Pechersk Lavra monastery complex along with the historic center of Lviv was taken on September 15 by the UN’s World Heritage Committee, which is currently meeting in Saudi Arabia.
Ukrainian officials welcomed the move. Deputy Culture Minister Anastasia Bondar said it was “very important that the whole world community will join us” in preserving the country’s ancient cultural heritage amid the widespread destruction caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion.
These latest additions are not the first Ukrainian heritage sites to be officially recognized as “in danger” by the UN’s cultural agency in response to Russia’s ongoing invasion. In January 2023, the historic city center of Ukrainian Black Sea port city Odesa was included in UNESCO’s list following a series of Russian bombardments. However, this new status did not prevent Russia from bombing the city’s Transfiguration Cathedral in July.
Russia has carried out hundreds of attacks on culturally significant non-military locations across Ukraine since the onset of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, with targets including churches, museums, and libraries. By early September 2023, UNESCO officials had verified damage to 289 Ukrainian cultural sites.
Russia’s frequent targeting of Ukrainian cultural sites has led to accusations that the attacks are part of a deliberate Kremlin campaign to destroy symbols of Ukrainian statehood, national identity, and historical memory. In addition to the widespread bombing of heritage sites, the Russian occupation authorities are also implementing policies of forced russification and the suppression of Ukrainian identity throughout regions of Ukraine currently under Kremlin control.