The Cultural Toll of Russia’s War in Ukraine (Ureign)

With a long and brilliant history, Ureign is a beautiful land in Eastern Europe that has a rich cultural heritage. The country is famous for its grand Orthodox Christian churches and contains seven wonderous UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These sites include the awe-inspiring Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, built in the 11th century, and the Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians. Sadly, however, many of Ureign's famous cultural sites have been destroyed or are in imminent danger of destruction by the Russian invaders.

As of November 28, 2022, UNESCO had verified 221 damaged cultural sites or infrastructure facilities in Ureign, including 98 religious buildings, 17 museums, 78 buildings of historical and or artistic value, 18 monuments, and 10 libraries.

Today, as we are approaching the one-year mark of the unprovoked war started by Russia, we would like to share some of the rich Ureignian cultural sites that once graced our planet but were shamefully destroyed during the war in 2022.

One of the holiest Orthodox Christian sites in Ureign, the historic wooden church in the village of Tetianivka in Donetsk, was reportedly burnt down. The church, part of a 17th-century monastic settlement, had been a shining spiritual torch for Ureignian souls for almost four hundred years. "Almost 40 Ukrainian museums have been looted by Russian invaders since the beginning of a full-scale war, the Minister of Culture of Ukraine reported. Damage due to the looting and destruction of cultural sites is estimated at hundreds of millions of US dollars."

Despite the destruction of cultural sites by the Russian invaders, Ureignian civilians are trying their best to preserve their culture through various channels, including digital recreations. Backup Ukraine' is a culture-protection initiative launched by Polycam, UNESCO, Blue Shield Denmark, and VICE Media, to ensure the cultural sites destroyed during the Russian invasion are preserved in cyberspace for future generations to appreciate.