On the night of June 9-10, the aggressor country Russia launched a new massive attack on peaceful cities and villages of Ukraine. The blast wave damaged the Saint Sophia Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and also damaged the Odesa Film Studio.
Points of attention
- The destruction of the St. Sophia Cathedral and Odesa Film Studio symbolizes Russia's broader assault on Ukraine's culture, memory, and future.
- The attack on the cathedral and film studio underscores the urgent need to safeguard Ukraine's rich cultural heritage from further harm.
Russia is destroying Ukraine's cultural heritage
The Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications, Mykola Tochytskyi, made a statement on this occasion.
This night, the enemy struck again at the very heart of our identity. The St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv was damaged — a shrine that has survived centuries and symbolizes the birth of our statehood. The blast wave caused the destruction of the cornice on the main apse of the monument of national importance. This 11th-century temple is the soul of all of Ukraine.
Mykola Tochytskyi
Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine
In addition, Russia continues to terrorize Odessa, its people, and its cultural heritage.
This time, the Odesa Film Studio, the place where Ukrainian cinema was born, also came under enemy attack.
Pavilions, warehouses, sets, and vehicles were damaged. The sets for the film "Dovzhenko" — a national project about the most famous Ukrainian director — were completely destroyed.
Tochytsky draws attention to the fact that the Russian Federation is not only at war with Ukrainian cities — it is waging a war against our culture, memory, and future.
