Aivazovsky, Prymachenko, Lely: RF steals over thousand cultural treasures during occupation of Kherson

By the third anniversary of the liberation of Kherson, the Defense Intelligence has published information about over a thousand cultural treasures stolen by the occupation forces from the Kherson Regional Art Gallery named after O. Shovkunenko.

This was reported by the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

According to the Defense Intelligence, servicemen of the russian armed forces under the leadership of russian museum workers systematically removed exhibits from the art museum, including paintings, graphics, sculptures and iconography. Some of them were illegally transported to the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea.

"The War&Sanctions portal has published data on 1,233 stolen paintings, which is only part of the general list of cultural treasures illegally removed from the museum by the occupiers," the report says.

Among the paintings stolen by the occupiers are works by Ukrainian and European artists of the 17th–20th centuries, such as Peter Lely, Maria Prymachenko, Mykola Pymonenko, Ivan Aivazovsky, Serhii Vasylkivskyi and others.

Screenshot: War&Sanctions

Screenshot: War&Sanctions

Screenshot: War&Sanctions

Screenshot: War&Sanctions

Screenshot: War&Sanctions

Screenshot: War&Sanctions

"By stealing and appropriating Ukrainian cultural heritage, russia is trying to eradicate Ukrainian national identity, justify aggression and occupation. Fixing these crimes is an important step towards restoring justice and bringing the perpetrators to justice," the Defense Intelligence emphasized.

As Ukrainian News Agency reported, earlier the Borodianskyi District Court acquitted a russian serviceman accused of robbing a house during the occupation of the Kyiv Region in March 2022. Human rights organizations say this is the first acquittal among all those passed in courts related to crimes committed by the russian army against civilians.

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