VALENTYNA ROMANENKO — SATURDAY, 4 JUNE 2022, 17:32
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls on the United Nations and UNESCO to expel Russia from these organisations as a terrorist state that is destroying historical monuments and social infrastructure in Ukraine.
Source: Zelenskyy on social networks
Details: On 4 June, Russian artillery struck the Sviatohirsk Lavra in the Donetsk region again. The fire destroyed the Vsikhsviatskyi Skete [All Saints’ Hermitage], which was consecrated in 1912.
It was first destroyed during the Soviet era. Later it was rebuilt. And now it has been set on fire by the Russian army.
On 1 June, Russian shells exploded in the cells of the Lavra monks. Four people were killed and four others were seriously injured. Sviatohirsk has been under fire since May.
Quote from Zelenskyy: “The occupiers know exactly what object is being shelled. They know that there are no military targets on the territory of the Sviatohirsk Lavra. They know that there are about 300 civilians hiding from hostilities, including 60 children. But still the Russian army is shelling the Lavra like the whole of Donbas, like any other territory and any other object of Ukraine that can be reached, they don’t care what they turn into ruins.
On 31 May, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine appealed to UNESCO to deprive Russia of its membership of the organisation. Ukrainian diplomacy is consistently working on this. No country other than Russia has destroyed so many monuments, cultural and social sites in Europe since World War II.
Every church burned by Russia in Ukraine, every school blown up, every destroyed memorial proves that Russia has no place in UNESCO. What can we talk about with a barbarian state, with a terrorist state? About which artillery shells are better for destroying historical heritage?
We expect a logical and fair response from the UN and UNESCO. It is the United Nations, and its Statute does not assume uniting with terrorists. Russia’s isolation must be complete, it must be held accountable for its crimes.”