Russia stole almost 35 thousand exhibits from 6 museums in deoccupied regions

Documentary evidence of Russia stealing 34,872 museum items from 6 institutions in 4 deoccupied regions of Ukraine. Data provided by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications.

34,872 museum items were stolen from 6 museum institutions in 4 deoccupied regions of Ukraine, which is documented. This was reported by the Department for the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications in response to a request.

According to the information available to the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications, 34,872 museum items were stolen from 6 museum institutions in 4 deoccupied regions of Ukraine, which is documented – the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications reported.

The ministry emphasized that in 2023, a letter was sent to regional military administrations with a request to provide information about museums located in the deoccupied territories of the regions, including the number of stolen museum items, and, in case of changes in circumstances, to immediately update the information.

“The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications receives information about museum items destroyed or missing for other reasons from the funds of museums located, including in the deoccupied territories, but it does not contain a general picture of such items. Today, work on compiling lists of lost museum items of the state part of the Museum Fund of Ukraine from museums is ongoing. Information about stolen museum items was received when museum employees had the opportunity to process issues regarding abandoned and stolen museum items directly in museum buildings,” the ministry noted.