ICOMOS Statement on the Attacks of 14-15 June 2026 in Ukraine

ICOMOS is particularly alarmed by the reported damage to the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, part of the World Heritage property “Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra”. Initial reports indicate that the attack of 15 June, caused a fire to the roof of the Dormition Cathedral and significant damage to its exterior and interior, affecting one of the principal monuments of the Lavra and a site of exceptional spiritual, architectural and historical significance.
Damage has also been reported to other structures and institutions within the Lavra complex, including the Ivan Kushnik Tower, part of the 17th–18th-century fortification complex of the Upper Lavra, as well as museum buildings, including the Treasury of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine and the Museum of Books and Printing of Ukraine. The full extent of the damage remains to be assessed.

ICOMOS deplores that, despite constant reminders by UNESCO, ICOMOS and others of the obligations arising under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, its Second Protocol, international humanitarian law, the World Heritage Convention, and the Enhanced Protection granted to this cultural property, a World Heritage property of Outstanding Universal Value has once again been exposed to attack and suffered damage.
This is all the more alarming given the repeated calls for the protection of cultural heritage in Ukraine and the clear international obligations to refrain from any act of hostility against cultural property.

ICOMOS also draws attention to the wider reported damage to cultural heritage and cultural institutions across Ukraine during the attacks of 14–15 June, including the Mystetskyi Arsenal National Cultural, Art and Museum Complex, the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Film Studio, the Kharkiv Art Museum, and the House of Organ and Chamber Music in Dnipro. This latest damage comes on top of the many cultural heritage sites, including World Heritage properties, museums, archives, libraries, religious buildings and cultural institutions that have already suffered damage in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

ICOMOS expresses its full solidarity with its colleagues in ICOMOS Ukraine and Ukrainian heritage professionals. ICOMOS stands ready, through UNESCO and in coordination with the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, ICOMOS Ukraine and relevant Ukrainian institutions, to support damage assessment, protective measures, and the safeguarding of the affected cultural heritage.