In occupied Crimea, Russia has stolen artifacts and destroyed an authentic site of global significance - the ancient Chersonesus.
This was reported by the press service of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
It is noted that among the objects taken to Russian museums were frescoes, pottery, household items, and icons. It has also become known about illegal construction on the site of the destroyed World Heritage site. According to Eugenia Kravchuk, deputy head of the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy, there is now an imperial "theater" at the site of the historical monument. The parliamentarian recalled the resolution adopted by the PACE on Russia's genocidal intent to destroy Ukrainian cultural heritage and identity.
The press service emphasized that since 2014, massive looting has been taking place in Crimea, including items and paintings of the Crimean Tatar people. Many Russian occupiers allegedly leave Crimea with cultural valuables, and over 1000 such artifacts from Crimean museums were taken to Russia between 2014 and 2020. Over 500,000 Crimean museum items were entered into Russian museum catalogs. In addition, over 12,000 monuments of Crimean history and culture were added to the State Register of Cultural Heritage Objects of Russia.
It is reported that illegal archaeological research (including underwater) is being conducted without sensitivity checks or presentation of results, such as in connection with the construction of the "Tavrida" highway to connect the Kerch Bridge with Crimea for Russia's military occupation of the peninsula, which led to the destruction of Muslim burial sites.
"In May 2023, information emerged that for the first time, golden artifacts from Chersonesus were taken out and illegally exported from Crimea for a museum exhibition... Russia not only destroys and loots, but also appropriates, presenting it as 'genuinely Russian'," said Eugenia Kravchuk. She thanked Tamila Tasheva, the President of Ukraine's representative in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and Elmir Ablyalimova, an expert at the Crimean Institute for Strategic Studies (KISS), for their assistance in preparing the document.
"The world must know the truth. Just as our Scythian gold was returned to Ukraine, so will other treasures of the peninsula be brought home. Justice will be restored. This is already happening within the framework of the ECHR, where the Ukrainian team continues to defend our case," Kravchuk emphasized.
