UNESCO condemns ‘brazen’ Russia attack on Odesa’s world’s heritage assets

Russia attack: UNESCO on Sunday slammed Russia’s strike on Ukraine’s Odesa, where city’s world heritage sites were attacked, as per the AFP report. The UNESCO issued a statement and said it is deeply dismayed and condemns in the strongest terms the brazen attack carried out by the Russian forces, which hit several cultural sites in the city centre.

Russian missiles strikes on Odesa killed one person and damaged a historic Cathedral, marking another devastating chapter in the ongoing war. In the early hours of Sunday, the Russian missiles hit the Southern Ukrainian city, injuring 22 people, including many children.

Destroyed structures

The largest church in the city, the Orthodox Transfiguration or Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral, which was dedicated in 1809, is among the destroyed structures.

The church was the architectural marvel of 19 centuries and demolished during the during Joseph Stalin’s reign and later rebuilt in the early 2000s.

Russia “deliberately aimed their missiles at the historic city center of Odesa” which is protected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), said Oleh Kiper, the head of the region’s military administration. “Everything that was built with hard work by great architects is now being destroyed by cynical inhumans,” a Ukrainian local official said.

Odesa Mayor Hennadii Trukhanov announced on Sunday that some of the other cultural landmarks are the House of Scientists, also called the Palace of the Counts Tolstoy, and Zhvanetskyi Boulevard. Several historic mansions also suffered damage.

However, Russia refuted claims that its attacked on civilian targets included cultural monuments or infrastructure.

Oleksandr Tkachenko, the culture minister of Ukraine, demanded that UNESCO exclude Russia.

Russia’s “disregard for sacred sites and innocent lives is evident yet again,” Tkachenko said in a Twitter post on Sunday. “Its missiles struck Odesa, endangering peaceful citizens and World Heritage property. Isn’t it time to gather more evidence and take action to label Russia as a terrorist state and expel it from UNESCO?”

European Union foreign policy chief Joesp Borrell called the destruction of the cathedral “another war crime” committed by Russia, while US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said, “Russia’s unjustifiable war against Ukraine and its people has terrible costs here,” as per CNN.

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