21/05/2022 17:04

Russian troops destroy cultural heritage in Kharkiv region

In the town of Lozova, the occupiers fired a missile at the House of Culture.  Seven people were injured.

After the restoration in 2021, the Palace of Culture in Lozova was one of the largest and most modern in the Kharkiv region.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the russian army, Kharkiv region has been under constant air strikes and bombings.

According to the latest data, most (94 out of 353) episodes of war crimes of russian invaders against the cultural heritage of Ukraine have been documented in the region.  Eight cultural monuments and more than 80 architectural monuments were destroyed.

The Holocaust Memorial Complex suffered the most damage, the remains of the Izium Fortress, built in 1681, the World War II Memorial, the Library named after  Korolenko, one of the oldest and largest bookstores in Ukraine, Kharkiv Art Museum.

By destroying our cultural heritage, russia is trying to erase the national identity of the Ukrainian people.  The aggressor's troops violate Articles 4 and 5 of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.  Such actions of the aggressor in accordance with Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court are a war crime.

I appeal to the UN Commission for Investigation Human Rights Violations during russia's military invasion of Ukraine to take into account these facts of war crimes and human rights violations in Ukraine.