Ukraine's Ministry of Culture interested in cultural heritage sites in Russia's Kursk Oblast

Rostyslav Karandieiev, acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, has said that Ukraine is interested in the monuments of Ukrainian history located in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. Currently, the Culture Ministry is waiting for the security situation to improve there so that it can examine the cultural heritage sites on the Russian lands captured by Ukraine.

Source: Interfax-Ukraine news agency 

Karandieiev was asked whether the Ministry of Culture plans to carry out humanitarian response measures within its scope in the territory of Russia’s Kursk Oblast, which is controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Quote: "These territories currently have the status of a combat-action zone, and there is no opportunity to carry out any civilian humanitarian activities there. Moreover, it is crucial to understand that this is a foreign territory and not the territory of Ukraine.

At the same time, we certainly have an interest in the monuments of Ukrainian history that are located on these lands, where Ukrainians officially lived not so long ago. Therefore, of course, we have such an interest in these territories...

We are waiting for an opportunity to study the cultural heritage sites on the ground and, together with international organisations, to find solutions that will allow us to ensure the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage sites of interest to Ukraine in the legal field."

Details: In particular, this concerns the estate of Hetman Ivan Mazepa in the village of Ivanovskoye, Kursk Oblast, which is not only an architectural monument but also a monument of Ukrainian history. 

"We would really like to see this facility restored and reconstructed. How and by what means this will be done, and to what extent it will be included in the list of foreign sites of Ukrainian cultural interest, we will see based on the development of the situation," Karandieiev said.

When asked how the said "interest of Ukraine" in the cultural and historical sphere in these territories could be implemented, Karandieiev said that Ukrainian troops ensure compliance with international humanitarian law there, and the Ministry of Culture is in constant contact with the Armed Forces.

Read more on the topic: "Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi's raid: how the Ukrainian offensive in Russia's Kursk Oblast is progressing and what to expect next"

Background:

• Meduza, a Latvia-based Russian news outlet, reported that the Kremlin believes that the fighting in Kursk Oblast could last for several months, according to optimistic estimates, and is preparing Russians for a "new normal".
• Earlier, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that since the beginning of the Kursk operation, as of 20 August, the Armed Forces had obtained control over more than 1,260 square kilometres of territory and 93 settlements in Kursk Oblast.

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