2 Locations In Ukraine On UNISCO List Of Historic Sites In Danger

The U.N.’s World Heritage Committee has placed two major historical sites in Ukraine on its list of such sites that it considers to be in danger.

The iconic St. Sophia Cathedral in the capital, Kyiv, and the medieval center of the western city of Lviv, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites central to Ukraine’s culture and history.

The decision was made at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, which is being held in Saudi Arabia and which maintains UNESCO’s World Heritage List and oversees conservation of the sites.

Neither site has been directly targeted since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Lviv has largely been spared from the fighting. But Russia has unleashed waves of strikes on Kyiv and other cities, hitting residential areas and critical infrastructure with Iranian-made attack drones.

The gold-domed St. Sophia Cathedral, located in the heart of Kyiv, was built in the 11th century and designed to rival the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. The monument to Byzantine art contains the biggest collection of mosaics and frescoes from that period, and is surrounded by monastic buildings dating back to the 17th century.

The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a sprawling complex of monasteries and churches some underground that were built from the 11th to the 19th century. Some of the churches are connected by a labyrinthine complex of caves spanning more than 600 meters.

Ukraine Deputy Culture Minister Anastasia Bondar, welcomed the move expressing happiness at the Country’s very rich history and culture which has been over thousands of years, and which they try to preserve for future generations.

Under the 1972 UNESCO convention, ratified by both Ukraine and Russia, signatories undertake to assist in the protection of the listed sites.