Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces on February 24th, 2022, cultural heritage – monuments, sites, archives, objects, sacred spaces, and collected traditions – has been under threat, as collateral damage and resulting from deliberate targeting.
"Cultural heritage [is] the bedrock of cultural identities, and [...] crimes committed against cultural heritage constitute, first and foremost, an attack on a particular group’s identity and practices, but in addition, an attack on an essential interest of the entire international community. Crimes against or affecting cultural heritage often touch upon the very notion of what it means to be human, sometimes eroding entire swaths of human history, ingenuity, and artistic creation."
- International Criminal Court, Policy on Cultural Heritage, 2021