Europe has not seen such cultural crimes, barbaric robberies and massive evacuation operations at museums and galleries since the World War II. Over 200,000 exhibits have been evacuated from combat zones to safer locations.
The War Up Close team interviewed Mr. Oleksandr TKACHENKO, the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, about the key vectors in the Ministry’s activities and the challenges posed by the ongoing war.
So, what are the top 3 priority areas for MCIP now?
- Preservation of Ukrainian heritage that is now in danger.
- Information security.
- Supporting artists who keep working in Ukraine.
Mr. Tkachenko mentions that they aren’t afraid of any challenges at the Ministry and are making arrangements to restore as many destroyed landmarks as possible. But the main task is keeping talent, giving them possibilities to study and work in Ukraine and promoting national heritage abroad.
Over 500 cultural heritage landmarks in 11 regions of Ukraine were damaged because of Russian invaders over the year of the full-scale invasion. Hundreds of cities have suffered damage, with over 10 of them completely destroyed. The War Up Close keeps documenting Russians’ war crimes and revealing them to the world. Our team recently came back from our first world tour with immersive exhibitions. About 3,000 people in Washington DC, Berlin, Paris, Warsaw and Brussels saw the terrible devastations in Chernihiv, Kyiv and Kharkiv regions through VR glasses. And we aren’t going to stop.
