Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February it has besieged the major cities with airstrikes and artillery fire and the escalating violence has triggered an exodus of 3.7 million people the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War The indiscriminate bombing of urban quarters including the capital Kyiv the second-largest city Kharkiv and the southern port of Mariupol has raised fears that Russian forces will repeat the devastation seen in past conflicts in Chechnya and Syria Here, we look at the most significant endangered monuments and museum collections within four of Ukraine’s key cities. Their destruction would be a grave loss not only for Ukraine but for world culture. As stated in the Hague Convention of 1954, to which Russia and Ukraine are both party, “damage to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind”. Kyiv’s 11th-century St Sophia Cathedral, symbol of the Ukrainian nation Photo: Francisco Anzola/Flickr Commons Odesa Museum of Western and Eastern Art, home to Frans Hals masterpieces Photo: Wikimedia Commons Market Square in Lviv, where the entire historic centre is classified as a Unesco World Heritage site Photo: Wikimedia Commons Kharkiv’s Constructivist skyscraper complex Derzhprom (House of State Industry) in Freedom Square, built in 1928, is in the zone of constant Russian shelling Photo: Oleksandr Malyon/Wikimedia Commons The collection of the Kharkiv Art Museum, which includes more than 25,000 paintings, sculptures and works on paper, was not taken into storage until 8 March, when Russian shelling shattered the windows. The attack endangered paintings by the renowned Russian realist Ilya Repin, including the second version of Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (1893). but a coalition of organisations is working to provide evidence of deliberate targeting by Russian forces news15 July 2022Ukrainian churches and places of worship devastated by warAs Russia's war continues conservation is proving impossible—but heritage groups priests and volunteers are doing their best to document the destruction while the Arsenal culture centre in Kyiv calls it a war “against all democratic states” The Ukrainian government is stepping up its efforts to form a consortium with Gazprom to construct a gas transit pipeline in Ukraine from Bohorodchany to Uzhhorod with a projected annual capacity of up to 20 billion cubic meters would provide an additional outlet from the main gas trunk line into European Union territory near Uzhhorod The project has been under discussion for several years in the context of proposals to form a Russia-Ukraine gas transport consortium that would own and/or operate Ukrainian pipelines Ukraine officially takes the position that such a consortium could only be created for building new pipelines particularly Bohorodchany-Uzhhorod; but it would not apply to the existing transit system This declarative position dates back to the final years of Leonid Kuchma’s presidency and the first government of Viktor Yanukovych Ukrainian officials during that time and at present have proposed various indirect methods for instituting “joint” Russian-Ukrainian control over Ukraine’s gas transit system Moscow takes the position that a gas transport consortium would by definition involve establishing joint control over Ukraine’s gas transit system with Gazprom investing in the system’s modernization in return for shared ownership and/or management a Bohorodchany-Uzhhorod pipeline in Ukrainian-Russian shared ownership looks less problematic to Ukraine than sharing control of its existing transit system with Russia the Bohorodchany-Uzhhorod project involves serious drawbacks to Ukraine and Europe it would render Ukraine even more dependent on Russian-delivered gas preempting market niches that could otherwise be filled by gas from alternative supply sources it would discourage existing plans and proposals to build gas pipelines that bypass Russia Those could include pipelines originating in the Caspian basin which Kyiv recently declared its interest to join via Romania or the proposed trans-Black Sea gas pipeline from Georgia or the proposals for a liquefied-natural-gas import terminal on the Black Sea to supply the region whether in Romania’s port of Constanta (where ample port installations are available) or in Odessa or Pyvdenny (as Ukraine prefers despite the less developed infrastructure there) a jointly owned Bohorodchany-Uzhhorod pipeline (presumably on a parity basis) would mean that Ukraine is forfeiting half the transit revenue for Russian gas en route to points west a Bohorodchany-Uzhhorod pipeline would enable Gazprom to increase its market share in Europe even further and faster thereby setting back the EU’s declared goals of supply diversification Building this pipeline would only be consistent with the peculiar diversification concept entertained by a large part of Germany’s political and big business establishment: namely “diversifying” the supply routes from a single source building that pipeline would give Russia an additional incentive to strengthen and expand its monopoly on the transit and marketing of Central Asian gas to Europe With Gazprom’s extraction and existing fields insufficient to meet its massive contractual commitments in Europe after 2010-2011 Moscow relies on cheaply bought Central Asian gas to sell expensively in Europe and fill that looming Russian deficit Most of the volume to be pumped through Bohorodchany-Uzhhorod to the EU would almost certainly originate in Central Asia this project would help perpetuate an exploitative arrangement (with windfall rents to the Kremlin) it would preempt those very volumes of Central Asian gas that EU countries need in order to reduce dependence on Russia Yanukovych sought to interest the German government in the Bohorodchany-Uzhhorod project Yanukovych concedes that Russian officials give ambiguous answers when asked whether Russia can provide an additional 20 billion cubic meters per year for this pipeline project From this he concludes that Ukraine cannot alone bear the risk of investing in this project but should launch it together with Russia in order to share the risks and give Russia an incentive to pump gas through Ukraine to Europe’s lucrative markets (Radio Deutsche Welle cited by Interfax-Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin and Gazprom most recently reiterated offers to allow Ukraine “access” to Russian extractive deposits in return for Russian takeovers of transit assets in Ukraine Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko initiated and the Verkhovna Rada adopted legislation banning the alienation of such assets (February 6) and President Viktor Yushchenko wasted no time signing that law (February 20) Gazprom vice-president Alexander Medvedev on videoconference link from Moscow to Brussels attacked “Ukrainian politicians who seek to politicize [sic] the bilateral relationship … by adopting strange laws that ban the alienation of Ukraine’s gas transport system” — obviously a swipe at Tymoshenko Gazprom president Alexei Miller made clear to Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko in Moscow that the Russian side still seeks joint management of Ukraine’s transit system in return for Ukrainian access to extractive project in Russia (Interfax-Ukraine the Russian Duma’s Energy Committee chairman declared that Russia could only offer “a small unimportant gas field” to Ukraine in return for Russian-shared control of the Bohorodchany-Uzhhorod project (Inform Newsletter With the exchange value of this project thus deprecated and its strategic drawbacks plain to Ukraine and Europe there is ample reason in Kyiv and Brussels to promote pipeline projects that aim for supply diversification instead of continuing Russian monopolization (see EDM spaces and heritage of the war-torn country being supported "Attacking a country's culture is to attack its humanity. Historic monuments, works of art and archaeological sites – known as cultural property – are protected by the rules of war," stated the International Committee of the Red Cross (which is guided by principles including the Geneva Convention 1949) in 2017 Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 the war has had terrible consequences for the country and its people – including massive damage to the entire Ukrainian culture sector -          Seven cleverly designed emergency homes -          How pop stars react when war breaks out -          Seven hyperlocal histories revealed One month after the invasion, the effects were being reported, as workers went on desperate rescue missions. In Lviv, at Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum, the country's largest art museum, staff were seen struggling to move heavy baroque pieces We saw empty display cabinets at the Museum of the History of Religion; and at the Latin Cathedral sculptures were wrapped in foam and plastic to protect them from the threat of shrapnel Damage to Ukraine's cultural sites has been extensive according to Unesco (the United Nations Educational Its Red List of Cultural Objects at Risk records verifiable damage to more than 259 cultural sites since the war began (not including damage from the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam where full assessment has not yet been possible) Destroying the cultural heritage of a country as a weapon to undermine its people has long been a tactic of war that has included the destruction of cultural and religious sites in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s; the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan in 2001; and The Great Mosque of Aleppo in Syria in 2016 [The war is] an attack on the intangible heritage and the cultural and creative industries of the country – UnescoCultural property protection (CPP) has a long history in military law The earliest surviving code of discipline for an English army is the 1385 Durham Ordinances drawn up for Richard II's invasion of Scotland which included an article not to damage religious or other cultural buildings The US is accepted as the first country to make CPP part of its military policy written for Federal forces during the American Civil War intentional targeting of cultural and religious sites that are not military goals or contribute to military action is prohibited in international humanitarian law in the 1954 Hague Convention on the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict In October 2022, Vladimir Putin imposed martial law in four Ukrainian territories illegally annexed by Russia. According to The Art Newspaper he also "explicitly 'legalised' the looting of the country's cultural heritage in the name of 'preservation'" The ravages of war is not just to physical structures it's an attack on the "intangible heritage and the cultural and creative industries of the country" too Unesco's director of culture and emergency situations the Ukrainian government reported that 37% of the country's creative industries had lost their jobs and that 90% of creative businesses suffered vast losses of turnover Cold statistics don't even begin to reflect the deep and life-changing impact of this war on individuals, like Yulia Danylevska She has documented life under occupation in the city by drawing with permanent marker pens on white tiles Her tile "stories" are colourful dramatic renditions of her observations – of Mariupol a burning house and other wartime symbolism "I didn't want to paint piles of corpses… so I decided to show subtle moments that could remain unnoticed compared to the other crimes of the Russian army," she posted "the occupier's hand removes a gold earring from the ear of a Ukrainian woman" even though people are being kidnapped in Kherson and not all of them come back," she wrote in the early months they are not aware of the modern art." But when the block in which she and her husband lived was badly bombed Now in a safer place, though far from her home, she is rebuilding her life. But since the war, her art feels more "gloomy", not helped by the disappearance of a friend He established the city's Museum of Contemporary Art in his own home "We don’t know if it was murder or kidnapping or a violent attack – it's still under police investigation," she says as well as villages and towns downstream of it was the only structure of its kind in the Soviet monumental classicism style posted on Instagram about Rayko: "Her story and art gave strength and inspired me immensely… Only photographs and documentaries on YouTube remain I cannot stop crying." She added: "Please remember her and her beautiful house full of unique art now under murky water of the catastrophic flood." The flood also submerged Scythian and Cossack burial mounds, old Cossack settlements and Tyagyn Fortress a monument of Lithuanian and Crimean Tartar architecture from the 14th and 15th Centuries But as the waters receded there was a small win CEO of a fine wine emporium and a Michelin starred restaurant in London have been "very vocal" on the war and critics of Putin –  so much so she says Chichvarkin is "a political refugee" She discusses the importance of preserving cultural heritage in any war particularly so as Ukraine has been saying all along 'we are a different nation and this is what we shed our blood for'." the smaller institutions and their unique collections risk damage or even total destruction – Bogdana BrylynskaPrior to the war Fokina would visit Ukraine six times a year loving its historical monuments and budding modern culture "So it breaks my heart to see what's happening," she tells BBC Culture She talks of the deep bonds that go back centuries between the countries: "There has been so much movement between the two historically… that is the horror these two brotherly nations involved in this bloodshed." At the Museum Crisis Centre (MCC), an NGO in Lviv, Bogdana Brylynska works on the monitoring group. It has been salvaging creative works since the war's outset regional museums in Eastern and Southern Ukraine the smaller institutions and their unique collections risk damage or even total destruction," she tells BBC Culture It is not known how many cultural institutions have been affected in occupied areas "Museums are just trying to carry on - especially if they're far from the frontline."         MCC connects culture workers to financial as well as psychological support "People find group therapy particularly beneficial It's important to know you're not alone," says Brylynska She is also head of office of the Lviv Unesco City of Literature: "Though last year we were without money Writers and artists have joined the forces, many on the frontline. One is Bohdan Bunchak but was injured and taken to the city for emergency spinal surgery Brylynska had recently attended the funeral of the writer Victoria Amelina who died from injuries she sustained in the Russian missile attack on a restaurant in Kamatorsk on 27 June In War and Justice Diary: Looking at Women Looking at War she had written: "At night I looked at fireballs in the sky from my balcony in Kyiv and listened to explosions." is what's happening in libraries in occupied cities the first thing they do is remove all the books from the libraries and destroy them and replace them with their own books." In Kherson there are no Ukrainian language books left in the libraries "They are using their culture to fight us so we need the power to fight back." She sees one positive lesson in this: "It shows the strength of Ukrainian culture is the scariest thing for them A distinctive subculture has flourished in the hands of exciting whose bright optical art is writ large on buildings in Kyiv; Dzvinya Podlyashetska who translates eclectic art influences into her own unique emotive style; and Olga Navrotska's striking photo images inspired by Ukrainian traditional attire and AI The dedication in Ukraine Rising is to those "whose bravery sincerity and ingenuity set a proud example for us all" When it comes to showing the incredible spirit of the Ukrainian people says Danyslevska: "We are waiting for the day our army will defeat the occupiers… All artists are waiting for the day when the left bank of Kherson "The community has been scattered since the conflict but of course we are in touch all the time We just don't know what's going to happen." 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The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has said that the Russian Armed Forces conducted assault operations from different directions to establish control over the territory around the Uglegorsk thermal power plant Ukrainian soldiers again pushed the Russian troops back, Ukrinform reports citing the General Staff's message on Facebook The situation has not greatly changed in the direction of Volhynia and Polesie settlements The units of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus continue performing certain tasks to strengthen security in the border areas of the Brest and Gomel regions Russia fired in the direction of Siverskyi at the Hai village in the Chernihiv region and Hudove Bilopillia and Grabovskoye villages in the Sumy region Russia periodically conducts aerial reconnaissance of the positions of the defence forces in the border areas of the Chernihiv and Sumy regions Pobeda and other settlements in the direction of Kharkiv city by using cannon and rocket artillery Bohorodchany and Adamovka by using artillery in the direction of Sloviansk town.Russia was shelling near Starodubivka Spirny and Ivano-Daryevka in the direction of Kramatorsk city The occupiers also used unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) The enemy is conducting military operations in the direction of Bakhmut town to create conditions for an attack on Bakhmut and to occupy the territory around the Uglegorsk thermal power plant Russia was shelling the military and civilian infrastructure in Zaitseve The enemy attacked by using ground forces and army aviation Russia was systematically shelling Zolota Nyva Krasnohorivka and other settlements in the direction of Avdiivka The enemy was using UAV near Mala Tokmachka and Novodarovka Russian troops are trying to improve the engineering equipment of defencive positions in some areas The enemy mainly focuses on the positions in the direction of Yuzhnobuzh settlement Russia fired at civilian and military infrastructure near Krasnaya Dolina Ukraine continues attacking Russia's strongholds military bases and warehouses in certain areas by using rocket artillery and fighter jets.