In the Rada, after the strike on the Kyiv Lavra, they propose to appeal to UNESCO to suspend the membership of the Russian Federation 19.06.2026 11:20 Ukrinform A draft resolution on appealing to international partners to strengthen the protection of Ukraine’s cultural heritage has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada.
This is reported on the parliament’s website, Ukrinform reports.
Draft resolution No. 15338 provides for an appeal to the United Nations, parliaments and governments of UN member states, EU and NATO member states, the European Parliament, UNESCO, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly regarding the condemnation of the Russian Federation’s policy of systematic cultural genocide aimed against the Ukrainian people.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is on fire due to enemy attack / Photo: Kyrylo Chubotin, Ukrinform 1 / 12
The document calls on international organizations and partner states to intensify the documentation and international legal assessment of Russia’s crimes against Ukraine’s cultural heritage, strengthen mechanisms for holding the Russian Federation accountable, and expedite consideration of suspending its membership rights in UNESCO.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra was damaged by shelling / Photo: Marianna Kotyk, Ukrinform 1 / 18
Furthermore, the draft resolution calls on the international community to increase support for Ukraine in the field of air defense, provide financial, technical, and expert assistance for the preservation and restoration of damaged monuments, museums, archives, and libraries, and facilitate the return of illegally removed cultural property.
The document also proposes appealing to partners to assist in the temporary evacuation of the most valuable cultural objects for their safe storage in accordance with international standards for the protection of cultural property during armed conflicts.
Separately, it is proposed to call on the international community to recognize the systematic destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage as cultural genocide of the Ukrainian people and to emphasize that such actions pose a threat to world cultural heritage and international security.
The document also includes a call to facilitate the search, return, and restitution of cultural property illegally removed from the territory of Ukraine.
The authors of the draft believe that its adoption will contribute to the official recognition of the Russian Federation’s policy of destroying Ukrainian cultural identity as an act of cultural genocide and the development of international legal mechanisms for protecting peoples from similar practices in the future.
As Ukrinform reported, during an air attack by Russian troops on Kyiv on the night of June 15, an enemy kamikaze drone hit the altar part of the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. As a result of the attack, 80% of the cathedral’s roof was damaged.
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UNESCO Russia Verkhovna Rada Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Air attack
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