UNESCO condemns Russian strikes on historic centre of Odesa – photo

On Monday, 18 November, UNESCO published a letter of appeal on its website. In it, the organisation condemned the recent attack on the historic centre of Odesa, which damaged an architectural monument.

Quote: "UNESCO condemns the strikes that hit several historic buildings and schools in the heart of the Historic Centre of Odesa (Ukraine), a site on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger. The Organization deployed a mission of experts to the site on Saturday," UNESCO said.

They also noted that such actions by the Russian military contravene international law: "UNESCO is calling for an end to all attacks on cultural property protected under widely ratified international standard-setting instruments."

The attack took place on the evening of 14 November and damaged an architectural monument – a family clinic on Pastera Street. The building is located within the UNESCO protected area.

The explosion damaged the windows and doors, and also damaged the ceiling, roof beams and walls. The furniture was also broken. In total, about 20 buildings were damaged: educational institutions, historical architecture and a church.

"UNESCO's representative in Ukraine held talks with representatives of the Odesa municipality on Friday afternoon and a mission of experts from the Organization went to the site on Saturday to help assess the damage and prepare safety works to ensure the buildings’ safety," the organisation added.

On 18 November, the Russians attacked Odesa once again. The missile attack killed eight civilians. The number of injured in Odesa increased to 39 people, including four children.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also reacted to the attack: "These are not random strikes – these are demonstrative strikes. After calls and meetings with Putin, after all the false gossip in the media about the alleged "refraining" from strikes. Russia is showing what it is really interested in: only war."

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