The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has published data on 14 Russian museum professionals who are engaged in propaganda and facilitate the theft of Ukrainian cultural valuables in occupied territories.
It has also been confirmed that 164 archaeological artifacts were illegally exported from occupied Crimea, found during excavations of the ancient cities of "Nymphaeum" and "Panticapaeum."
Since 2022, Russian museums have been conducting systematic propaganda activities in the occupied territories: organizing exhibitions, lectures, and educational programs aimed at legitimizing the occupation. Their goal is to integrate Ukrainian museums into the Russian cultural space and destroy Ukrainian identity.
Among the individuals involved are:
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Irina Zhukova – Director of the All-Russian Historical and Ethnographic Museum, who in 2024 organized an exhibition titled Unity Through the Ages in occupied Luhansk region to promote the historical connection of Donbas with Russia.
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Alexander Shkolnik – Director of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, at the base of which, in 2023, training was conducted for museum professionals from occupied Donetsk on promoting Russian history among museum visitors.
The list of "heritage thieves" also includes Sergey Naryshkin, head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, along with his History of the Fatherland foundation and the Russian Historical Society, which has 7 branches in temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories.
The War & Sanctions portal has compiled data on 996 stolen objects and 260 individuals involved in the looting of Ukrainian cultural heritage, distortion of history, and erasure of Ukrainian identity.
