On Tuesday, UNESCO announced its support bidding By Ukraine to add the historic port of Odessa to the World Heritage List of protected sites.
Odessa, the largest port in the Black Sea and a major transit hub for Ukraine’s grain exports, lies roughly seven miles from the front line of the Russian invasion. Its cultural treasures include the Odessa Museum of Fine Arts, an early 19th-century mansion that housed more than 12,000 works before the war. Museum staff removed most of the collection for safekeeping months ago; The building was damaged by Russian artillery fire.
Ukraine’s Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said they had expedited the Odessa nomination process, which includes an assessment by the World Heritage Committee.
If Odessa is added to the World Heritage List, the city will be legally protected by the Geneva Convention, which means that if it is attacked by Russian forces, there will likely be consequences.
The agency also asked the World Heritage Committee to add St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Kyiv and the historic center of Lviv, both of which are already recognized as UNESCO sites, to the list of endangered sites.
According to UNESCO, 175 Ukrainian cultural and historical sites have been damaged since Russia launched its invasion in February. Among them are antiquities, museums, libraries and religious buildings.
In July, Russia began an air attack on Odessa, destroying part of the glass canopy and windows in the Odessa Museum of Modern Art. The Odessa Museum of Modern Art was also damaged. UNESCO will fund both the museum’s repairs and will fund the recruitment of additional staff dedicated to protecting their collections, assisting in efforts to digitize artworks and providing protective equipment.
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