Shell-damaged Kherson Regional Museum receives Blue Shield protection status
"From today, the buildings of our museum are protected by the international Blue Shield emblem, established under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. These special signs identify cultural sites that are entitled to special protection under international law," the museum said.
Museum staff noted that part of the institution's main building has suffered severe damage as a result of Russian shelling and drone attacks.
"Trying to justify their war crimes, the occupiers cynically claimed that there were 'military facilities' inside the museum's historic building. But the whole world knows that the only things preserved here are our memory, history, and culture," the museum added.
The museum expressed hope that the installation of the international protective emblem will encourage the enemy to respect its status and once again demonstrate to the international community the nature of these barbaric attacks.
The Blue Shield is an international symbol for the protection of cultural heritage and the name of an international organization that works to safeguard museums, archives, libraries, architectural monuments, and other cultural property during armed conflicts, emergencies, and natural disasters.
What is known about the theft of artworks from the Kherson Art Museum?
In addition to the collections of the Regional Museum of Local Lore, Russian forces looted valuable cultural artifacts from Kherson as they retreated during the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
In particular, Russian troops looted the Kherson Art Museum in the spring of 2022, removing artworks and office equipment to occupied Crimea. In total, more than 10,000 museum objects were illegally taken, highlighting the scale of the cultural losses caused by the occupation.
Efforts to identify the stolen artworks are ongoing. So far, staff at the Oleksii Shovkunenko Kherson Art Museum have identified 130 works of art that were illegally removed by Russian forces.
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30 of June 2026
