Ukraine, war on culture: 60 libraries destroyed

Sixty Ukrainian libraries have been destroyed by bombing since the beginning of the war, 4 thousand are now found in the territories occupied by the Russians. This is the balance drawn up by the Ukrainian Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmyla Denisova which does not include Mariupol since “the situation of its 20 libraries is unknown”. “In the temporarily occupied territories, Russian troops are destroying not only the buildings housing the libraries, but also Ukrainian books, including textbooks, Ukrainian history and literature – reports Denisova – The so-called ‘military police’ confiscates the narrative and Ukrainian historical literature from the libraries of the Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson regions “. Actions which, the Commissioner for Human Rights underlines, “violate articles 4 and 5 of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. According to article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, this is a war crime “.