UNESCO presents preliminary results of its mission to Odesa

Last month, an escalation of violence against culture has been witnessed, including repeated Russian attacks on the city of Odesa, home to the World Heritage property ‘The Historic Centre of Odesa’.

Strongly condemning these attacks, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, also announced the deployment of an experts’ mission in the following days.

From 29 July to 1 August 2023, the mission led by Chiara Dezzi Bardeschi, UNESCO's Representative to Ukraine, brought together several experts, including from ICOMOS and ICCROM, to assess the extent of damage to Ukrainian cultural heritage. The mission also aimed to identify imminent threats to the integrity of these sites and to propose urgent measures needed to stabilize them and protect them from future deterioration.

The mission has visited the Historic Centre of Odesa to gather first-hand information and on-site evaluation of the damaged buildings, in addition to meetings with national and local authorities, but also technical institutions and NGOs operating in Odesa.

Among the 52 cultural properties reported as damaged by the Ukrainian authorities, UNESCO was able to assess on the ground the level of destruction of the 10 most impacted sites. The majority are categorized as severely damaged, including the Transfiguration Cathedral, the House of Scientists, the Manuk-Bey's mansion - currently hosting a kindergarten - , the Literature Museum, the Pommer's mansion and the Residential buildings (Solomos) in 4 Preobrazhenska Street.

These attacks have also damaged the historic urban fabric, which represents an important attribute of the World Heritage site and is one of the reasons why it was inscribed.

Due to the repeated attacks, some other historic buildings become more vulnerable, and therefore are at risk of significant damage caused by blasts and vibration, if new attacks occur.

A detailed report will be finalized and presented in the following months.

Through its Heritage Emergency Fund, UNESCO has just released urgent funds (US$ 169,000) to support several timely required actions, including the installation of new protections on key cultural buildings, the conduction of geological and architectural studies and post-disaster first-aid respondents’ skills enhancement.

The detailed documentation of current state is crucial to inform stabilization and conservation plans. During the mission, UNESCO experts have already started producing the 3D laser scanning of some severely damaged properties, among which the House of scientists and the Cathedral.

As Odesa is not the only place under attack, UNESCO has also recommended the inscription on the World Heritage in Danger List of two other Ukrainian properties: “Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” and “L'viv – the Ensemble of the Historic Centre”. The final decision will be made by the World Heritage Committee at its forthcoming meeting in September.