War in Ukraine, Russians attack Odessa again: severe damage to Cathedral

Overnight, a Russian missile attack on Odessa , Ukraine, killed two civilians and wounded twenty-two people, including four children, and caused severe damage to the Cathedral of the Transfiguration, one of the country’s largest houses of worship and a symbol of rebirth after the fall of the Soviet Union: the Orthodox cathedral, in fact, built between 1795 and 1808, was demolished by the Soviets in 1936, and was then rebuilt in identical form to the original between 2000 and 2005, using the old foundations.

“Terrible bombing of Odessa by Russian occupiers,” writes Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko on Telegram. “The ruined Cathedral of the Savior and Transfiguration in the center of Odessa, the House of Scientists, residential buildings, port infrastructure. The center of Odessa is protected by UNESCO. But the terrorists do not care because there is still no punishment from the international organization. The Odessa City Council, after consulting specialists from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, ensures the initial registration of the state of the buildings, as well as documentation of war crimes committed by the Russians. There will be no forgiveness, no justification, and Russia will definitely be punished.”

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, this is the third time the Russians have struck a UNESCO-protected area (in fact, the historic center of Odessa is, as of January 2023, one of the Ukrainian sites on the World Heritage List : there are eight in Ukraine). The first time was earlier this month with an attack on the Lvivbuffer zone . The second last July 21 when Russian missiles struck an area of the historic center of Odessa, moreover damaging the Archaeological Museum, the Maritime Museum, and the Museum of Literature, all of which are marked, UNESCO has made known, with the Blue Shield, i.e., the symbol by which during a conflict protected property is indicated, which according to the 1954 Hague Convention cannot be attacked. And just in the wake of the attack day before yesterday, UNESCO reiterated its condemnation: “Occurring just two weeks after the attack that destroyed a historic building in Lviv, this attack is the second to date in an area protected by the World Heritage Convention in violation of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. This attack also coincided with the destruction of the Cultural Center of Folk Art and Art Education in the city of Mykolaiv, a hundred kilometers away. UNESCO expresses its support for the people of Odessa and sends its sincere condolences to the families of the victims. [...] Once again, UNESCO calls for the cessation of attacks against cultural property protected by widely ratified international normative instruments. This war poses a growing threat to Ukrainian culture. To date, UNESCO has verified damage to 270 cultural sites in Ukraine as of February 24, 2022.”

Photo of the Cathedral: Konstantin Brizhnichenko. Photo of the damage: Ministry of Culture of Ukraine

War in Ukraine, Russians attack Odessa again: severe damage to Cathedral

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