Statement by the United States National Committee of the International Council of Museum pertaining to the news of the destruction of the Historical and Local History Museum at Ivankiv (northern edge of Kyiv, Ukraine) by the Russian military:

February 28, 2022

Statement by the United States National Committee of the International Council of Museum pertaining to the news of the destruction of the Historical and Local History Museum at Ivankiv (northern edge of Kyiv, Ukraine) by the Russian military:

The confirmed news reports of yesterday’s willful destruction (by fire) of the Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum, an institution devoted to archaeology, history, and the visual arts (including the work of important Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenko) illuminates a tangible and irreversible impact of this immoral and unprovoked war. ICOM-US joins the chorus of international voices, led by our Ukrainian colleagues, in opposition to this war and specifically endorses the calls for action within the United Nations Economic and Social Organization (UNESCO) to bring justice and order to the situation and rebuke the aggressor, the Russian Federation, for this despicable act in violation of the rules of modern warfare.

The current conflict has taken lives, displaced tens of thousands of residents, and destabilized the international order. That it also seeks to destroy—recklessly and intentionality—the heritage, institutions, and access to history of a great nation and palimpsest of past cultures abrogates the reasonable expectations of civil society and the treaty obligations of which the United States, Russia, and Ukraine are all signatories. As articulated in Principle One of the ICOM Code of Ethics: “Museums preserve, interpret and promote the natural and cultural inheritance of humanity.” They are not targets. Their workers are not pawns. Their collections belong to the future. Willful damage and the loss of lives are reprehensible. The loss of culture and its history is irreparable.

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Additional resources:

Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum website, Museum — Ivankiv Museum (ivankiv-museum.site)