Ukraine says thousands of museum artworks vanished after Russian forces withdrew

Russian aerial bomb destroys 19th-century Donetsk Regional Art Museum in Sloviansk. PIC/X@UkraineWorld

When Alina Dotsenko returned to her museum after Ukrainian forces retook the southern city of Kherson from Russian forces in late 2022, she found thousands of artworks had vanished. "I walked in and saw empty storage rooms, empty shelves. My legs gave way, and I just sat down by the wall, like a child," the Kherson Art Museum director said.

Before Russia's full-scale invasion in early 2022, the museum held more than 14,000 works in a collection "ranging from America to Japan." As the Russians retreated, they loaded much of it onto trucks and took it to Russian-annexed Crimea, according to Dotsenko and video filmed by residents. The fate of nearly 10,000 pieces remains unknown.

Ukraine is again raising its voice over the looting as Russia seeks to return to the world's cultural stage. Next month's Venice Biennale plans to allow Russian representatives to take part for the first time since 2022. Ukraine has said the event "must not become a stage for whitewashing the war crimes that Russia commits daily against the Ukrainian people and our cultural heritage."

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