COPENHAGEN, 20 June 2025 – On the night of 10 June 2025, during the massive Russian missile attack on Kyiv, the eastern facade of St. Sophia Cathedral – a unique monument of cultural heritage not only to Ukraine but all the world – suffered significant damage. St. Sophia Cathedral is a unique 11th-century monument and is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site – “Kyiv: St. Sophia Cathedral and Nearby Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.”
Since 2023, as a result of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched on 24 February 2022, the cathedral has been placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, along with two other sites in Ukraine – the Ensemble of the Historic Centre in Lviv, and the Historic Centre of Odesa. St. Sophia Cathedral is also under enhanced protection according to the Second Protocol to the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (The Hague, 26 March 1999).
The loss of any element this cathedral is significant. Even a small fragment, such as a plastered cornice, is a part of its historical and architectural integrity. If the blast waves have caused damage in one place, this indicates a potential danger to other, less stable parts of the facade or interior elements, priceless mosaics, frescoes and graffiti. Therefore all necessary measures must be taken to ensure its structural integrity.
As a result of deliberate military actions of the Russian Federation thousands of cultural objects have been damaged or destroyed, including libraries, museums, cinemas, and theaters. The historical centers of Lviv and Odesa also suffered from deliberate missile attacks and had various levels of damage.
We recall that in the 2014 OSCE PA Baku Declaration, the Assembly reaffirmed that all activities related to cultural property should be in full conformity with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and called upon OSCE participating States to take all appropriate measures, in accordance with international law, to provide effective criminal sanctions against perpetrators and inciters involved in acts against cultural property.
The Parliamentary Support Team for Ukraine of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly therefore strongly condemns the systematic violation of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage by the Russian Federation.
We call on all OSCE participating States to increase pressure on the Russian Federation to stop war crimes and deliberate massive missile attacks that cause life losses among civilians and ruination of Ukrainian cultural heritage.
