Russian troops are not only destroying the cultural heritage of Ukraine, but are also massively stealing valuable artifacts that have already begun to appear on the international black market. About this told Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin in an interview with “Voice of America”.
According to him, during the meeting in Washington, organized with the support of the US Attorney General, a meeting was held with the FBI’s special team investigating crimes against cultural heritage. Kostin emphasized that Russia not only systematically destroys cultural objects, but also steals cultural values from museums and archaeological monuments of Ukraine. These stolen artifacts have already been found on international black markets, creating new grounds for criminal proceedings.
A special unit was created in the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine to investigate cases of destruction and attempts to illegally sell Ukrainian cultural heritage abroad.
“Thanks to the close cooperation with our colleagues from the FBI and the US Department of Justice, we were able to put all the pieces together. Based on the information received, we created a special unit in my office. This unit deals not only with the investigation of cases of destruction of cultural heritage due to shelling, but also cases, when they try to illegally sell our cultural heritage abroad”, – Kostin explained.
In addition, the G7 countries plan to provide assistance to Ukraine in restoring damaged cultural heritage as a result of the Russian invasion.
