UNESCO estimates the cost of destruction suffered by Ukrainian heritage at $3.5 billion
Ukraine’s heritage and cultural sector have suffered $3.5 billion (€3.3 billion) in damage since the start of the war, which has caused $19 billion (€17.7 billion) in losses. losses in entertainment, art and tourism, Unesco estimated on Tuesday.
In April 2023, the UN Organization for Education, Science and Culture, headquartered in Paris, estimated this damage at nearly $2.6 billion, and some $14.6 billion losses in tourism, art and entertainment.
To achieve these amounts, UNESCO has identified some 5,000 sites destroyed since the start of the Russian offensive in February 2022, including 341 cultural sites damaged – compared to 248 in April 2023. the historic center of Lviv (West) and that of Odessa (South), two UNESCO World Heritage sites, were notably affected by Russian bombings.
Chiara Dezzi Bardeschi, UNESCO representative in Ukraine, notably cited the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odessa, a “symbol for the whole community”, which was heavily damaged by a Russian strike in July 2023. Founded more than two hundred years ago and destroyed by the Soviets in 1936, the cathedral was rebuilt in the early 2000s thanks to donations. It was consecrated in 2010 by the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill.
The cathedral has “a religious and spiritual value for the city and for the community” but is no longer usable by the community, regretted Mme Bardeschi.
Seven Ukrainian cultural sites and one natural site are part of UNESCO World Heritage, including the historic center of Odessa (South-West), relatively spared, which joined it this year.
Sixteen other sites, including the city center of Chernihiv, damaged during the first months of the war, appear in a list “indicative” of Unesco. kyiv must, ultimately, present their candidacy with a view to becoming a World Heritage Site.