ICOM Calls to Safeguard Cultural Heritage in Ukraine

13 June 2025

The International Council of Museums (ICOM) and expresses profound concern and condemns the confirmed damage to the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv. The monument, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, suffered destruction of the cornice of the main apse, as a result of the airstrike launched by the Russian Federation on 10 June 2025. ICOM stands in solidarity with the heritage professionals in Ukraine.

This tragedy underscores the escalating threat to cultural heritage amid armed conflict, as reflected in the joint Declaration on the Protection of Archives, Libraries, Museums and Heritage Places during Armed Conflicts and Political Instability issued by ICOM, ICOMOS, ICA and IFLA on 30 May 2024. As highlighted in the letter, cultural heritage, whether housed in museums, archives, libraries, or heritage places, is an essential pillar of identity, history, and the social fabric of communities.

On behalf of ICOM, ICOM President Emma Nardi reiterates its call for all parties to respect the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of armed conflict and its First Protocol and to abide by their international legal obligations to protect cultural heritage and the professionals who work to safeguard it. ICOM urges international institutions and cultural heritage partners to take swift, coordinated action to protect cultural heritage. This must remain a global priority, not only as a matter of cultural preservation, but also of protecting peace, fostering reconciliation, and promoting justice.

Statement by the Ukrainian National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) regarding the threat of destruction of the World Heritage Site "Kyiv: Saint Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra"

Kyiv: UNESCO is deeply concerned about threats to World Heritage in Ukraine's capital