UNESCO is concerned about illegal trade of Ukrainian art

UNESCO trained law enforcement and judiciary officials from countries on Ukraine’s western borders to prevent the export of cultural property looted during the full-scale war with Russia. This was reported by the Associated Press news agency.

UNESCO partnered with Poland’s Culture Ministry to hold three days of workshops in Warsaw this week for the officials from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova, with the participation of representatives from Ukraine.

The aim was to draw the attention of officials and identify the necessary mechanisms to be able to identify and prevent any artistic treasures looted in Ukraine from crossing the borders.

Krista Pikkat, UNESCO’s director of culture and emergencies, said that more than 230 cultural sites have been damaged or destroyed in Ukraine since Russia invaded the country.

She said that UNESCO is working to document lost cultural objects, among them treasures from museums and archaeological sites.

Another priority for UNESCO was to inform the wider public that looted Ukrainian art may end up on European art markets. Therefore, collectors and buyers should be more careful about the provenance of the objects they want to purchase.

Earlier, UNESCO announced that it would join the digitization of Ukraine’s cultural heritage.

As reported earlier, Russia has already destroyed more than 1,200 objects of cultural infrastructure.