UNESCO responds to Russian shelling of Odesa monuments

The International Organisation UNESCO has expressed its strong condemnation of the attack by the Russian occupiers on the World Heritage Site of the Historic Centre of Odesa. In its appeal, UNESCO called on Russia to stop attacks on cultural property protected by international regulations.

This is stated on the official website of the organisation. This attack comes just two weeks after a strike that destroyed a historic building in Lviv, and is the second to date in a site protected under the World Heritage Convention.

"UNESCO expresses its support to the people of Odesa and sincere condolences to the families of the victims. The preliminary assessment in Odesa revealed damage to several museums located in the World Heritage site, including the Odesa Archaeological Museum, the Odesa Maritime Museum and the Odesa Literary Museum. All of them were marked by UNESCO and local authorities with the Blue Shield, the distinctive emblem of the 1954 Hague Convention," the statement said.

UNESCO stressed that the war started by Russia poses an increasing threat to Ukrainian culture. The organisation has confirmed the destruction of 270 cultural sites in Ukraine since 24 February 2022.

On the morning of 21 June, Russian troops again shelled Odesa region. The infrastructure of the Belgorod-Dniester district was under attack.

Earlier it was reported that on the night of 20 July, Russia attacked the south of Ukraine. In the centre of Odesa, an administrative building and many nearby houses were destroyed, and a civilian security guard was reportedly killed in the destroyed building.

In Mykolaiv, the enemy hit a residential building. One person has been reported dead and at least 19 injured, including five children, the youngest of whom is under one year old.

The Russian Ministry of Defence called the missile attacks on Odesa and Mykolaiv "retaliatory strikes", apparently for the attack on the Crimean bridge.

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