The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has released information about 178 cultural valuables stolen by the Russians from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
This was announced by the Main Intelligence Directorate.
The data have been published in the section “Stolen Heritage” on the War & Sanctions portal.
According to the report, Russian forces stole more than 140 artifacts during illegal archaeological excavations in Crimea — at the sites of the Southern Suburb of Chersonesus Taurica, Kadikovske settlement (a Roman camp), and the Church of John the Baptist, a monument of Byzantine architecture.
In addition, the occupiers removed 37 exhibits from the National Historical and Archaeological Museum “Kamiana Mohyla” and transferred them to the Chersonesus Taurica Museum under the pretext of a “temporary exhibition” titled “The Spiritual World of Ancestors in the Petroglyphs of Kamiana Mohyla” in 2023.
Part of the published information was provided by participants of the international War & Sanctions hackathon.
As the Main Intelligence Directorate emphasized, by appropriating Ukrainian culture and history, Russia seeks to erase Ukraine’s national identity, justify its aggression and occupation. Documenting these crimes is the first step toward justice and the prosecution of all those involved.
The Intelligence Agency also recalled that earlier, the War & Sanctions portal had published information about 110 cultural valuables illegally excavated by Russians in Crimea.
