Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications wants to work with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to create a means of restoring historical buildings following damage regularly caused by Russian strikes and shelling of Kyiv’s city center.
Whilst limited on detail, the Ministry’s press release calls for “the establishment of a mechanism for preserving and protecting the architectural integrity of the streets in the historic center of the capital, regardless of the status or ownership of the buildings.”
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The Ministry also aims to create a database with information about built heritage.
“This comprehensive strategy will help safeguard cultural heritage as an integral part of national identity and, most importantly, establish a database for the restoration of historical buildings and structures,” the press release states.
Ukraine’s ministry is concerned that the damage to cultural heritage caused by strikes in the city center risks “devastating consequences for national identity.”
The main trigger for this statement was damage caused to the National Union of Writers of Ukraine building, also known as the Lieberman Mansion, as well as several other buildings in Kyiv center built at the end of 19th century.
About the Lieberman Mansion in Kyiv
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Moscow’s New Year’s Day drone attack on the capital and other Ukrainian regions left the Lieberman Mansion heavily damaged.
“Almost all the windows were shattered, parts of the facade were damaged, and several interior rooms were affected,” UkraineWorld reported in a post on X.
The premises were built in 1879 – part of the heart of Kyiv and close to the city’s most famous art nouveau House with Chimaeras (or Horodecki House).
Kyiv architect Volodymyr Nikolaiev oversaw the construction of the building, and also designed Kyiv’s St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral, the Opera House, and a total of 27 public buildings in the city.
The Lieberman Mansion got its name from one of the building’s prominent owners, Simkha Lieberman, a millionaire and sugar factory magnate, who expanded the structure, giving it not only its present appearance but also its name.
During soviet times, the Lieberman Mansion became a headquarters for the National Union of Writers of Ukraine.
In 1989, it hosted initial meetings that marked the formation of the People’s Movement of Ukraine (Narodnyi Rukh Ukrayiny), led by Ukraine’s prominent poet Ivan Drach.
The program and statutes of the movement – commonly referred to as Rukh – were proposed by the Writers Association of Ukraine and were published in the journal Literary Ukraine (Literaturna Ukraina) on Feb. 16, 1989. The organization has its roots in Ukrainian dissidents —notable among them being Viacheslav Chornovil. Rukh brought Ukraine’s first political leaders and lawmakers in Ukraine’s parliament.
Other historical UNESCO buildings damaged by recent Russian strikes
The former Council of People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR building also suffered destruction of the fourth, fifth and sixth floor in the recent wave of attacks. Its tower was completely destroyed.
On March 22, 1876, the estate was purchased by Sarah Brodsky, the wife of sugar industry magnate Lazar Brodsky. The property remained under the ownership of the Brodsky family until 1918.
It then belonged to a former commander of the Russian gendarme regiment in Kyiv Fyodor Trepov who suppressed the November (1830–1831) and January (1863–1864) Uprisings.
The uprisings were armed rebellions in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire in which Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Lithuanians participated.
Trepov requested to build a mansion on the same land that the former Council of People’s Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR building is now located.
The roof of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) was also destroyed after drone debris fell onto the top of the building. A fire broke out on the roof of one of its buildings but was promptly extinguished by State Emergency Service personnel. Windows on the upper floors were also damaged. Nevertheless, the accident did not interfere with the regular operations of the central bank, according to its press statement on Facebook.
The Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office opened a case regarding the commission of a war crime, according to a statement on its website.
“The attack on Kyiv resulted in the deaths of two individuals and injuries to seven others, including two pregnant women”, the press release stated.
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