The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reacted sharply to UNESCO's statement regarding the consequences of the shelling of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, as the organization's message did not specify that the damage to the shrine was caused by a Russian strike. This was stated stated by the spokesperson of the foreign affairs ministry, Georgiy Tsykhy.
Criticism of the international organization's position
According to the MFA spokesperson, the organization's position, which avoids directly assigning blame to the Russian Federation, is absurd.
"An organization responsible for protecting cultural heritage cannot even directly state what it needs to be protected from. Why is it so difficult to call it a Russian strike?" – emphasized Georgiy Tsykhy.
Separately, the spokesperson of the foreign affairs ministry assessed the institution's current activities. Georgiy Tsykhy stated that under its current leadership, UNESCO continues to demonstrate weakness and a lack of leadership.
According to him, the organization currently shows its inability to fully fulfill its direct mandate to protect cultural heritage sites.
Read also: The government will allocate funds for the restoration of the damaged Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra – Zelensky
Consequences of the June 15 attack
As a result of the massive attack by the Russian Federation on June 15, damage to infrastructure was recorded in all districts of Kyiv. As of now, 5 people are known to have died and over 30 have been injured.
In addition to residential buildings, during the night attack, destruction and fires were recorded on the territory of three cultural heritage sites in the capital.
In the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, as a result of shelling, a fire broke out, and the fire damaged the roof of the Dormition Cathedral.A fire broke out on the territory of the Mystetskyi Arsenal, which, according to preliminary data, was caused by the impact of an unmanned aerial vehicle. On the territory of the Dovzhenko National Film Studio, the impact led to a fire and damage to the buildings of the film studio. In the costume department, completely the largest and oldest costume collection in Ukraine was destroyed,which numbered about 100,000 costumes and 3 million pieces of various clothing.
