UKRAINE, KHARKIV, Dec 13 – UNESCO will implement the “ad hoc monitoring” mechanism for the State Industry Building (Derzhprom) in Kharkiv, damaged by Russian attacks. Ukraine is the first country to use this mechanism. Officials announced the decision on December 11 during the opening session of the 19th UNESCO Committee Meeting on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.
Russian attacks damaged the building on October 28 and November 8, 2024. An explosion near the seventh entrance on the third floor caused the collapse of the second and third floors and parts of the facade and roof. The blast also damaged structural elements of other sections of the building.
The monitoring will document the damage to the building, coordinate reconstruction efforts, and provide evidence to bring Russian war criminals to justice.
“While Russia continues targeted attacks on cultural heritage sites, disregarding the norms of international humanitarian law, Ukraine is stepping up its efforts to apply UNESCO mechanisms,” commented Mykola Tochytskyi, Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications.
He is convinced that with the help of UNESCO’s documentating the damage, Ukraine will soon be able to send the organization’s findings to the International Criminal Court.
Derzhprom is included in the UNESCO Tentative World Heritage List and was included in the organization’s list of cultural property under “enhanced protection” in 2023. In November of this year, UNESCO expressed its readiness to help Kharkiv speed up the inclusion of Derzhprom on the World Heritage List.
UNESCO also promised to fund experts to prepare a nomination to include the entire Svobody Square ensemble into the World Heritage List.
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- On the evening of December 4, at about 6:25 p.m., the Russian army dropped a glide bomb (KAB) on houses in Kupiansk, killing a 40-year-old man, reported Oleh Syniehubov, governor of Kharkiv Oblast.
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