First archaeologist suspected of a crime against Ukrainian cultural heritage in Crimea

The first suspicion of a Russian archaeologist for a crime against Ukrainian cultural heritage in Crimea has been drawn up.

This was reported by MP Yevhenia Kravchuk.

In her post, she said that it was especially pleasant to receive this information on the day when the Third Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimean Platform was successfully held in Riga with the participation of 40 delegations from all over the world.

"Everyone knows how Russia destroys, destroys and steals cultural heritage sites from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Illegal archaeological excavations in Crimea are part of this criminal activity," the MP noted.

She added that all the facts of such illegal excavations are properly documented by Ukrainian services within the framework of separate criminal proceedings. So far, it has been established that only one archaeological heritage site, in the period of 2014-2019, has suffered losses in the amount of more than UAH 200 million.

"It is also very important that the issue of bringing Russian "archaeological scientists" to justice has moved forward. In one of the proceedings, a Russian "archaeologist" who destroys the cultural heritage and identity of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people has been suspected of committing a crime against the cultural heritage of Ukraine. In addition to justice, this means that information about the crimes will be disseminated through Interpol to foreign law enforcement agencies, and such "scientists" can forget about traveling to seminars and exhibitions abroad," added Yevhenia Kravchuk.

The MP did not name the first archaeologist who was suspected of a crime against Ukrainian cultural heritage in Crimea.

Earlier it was reported that this summer two fires occurred on the territory ofthe Scythian Naples reserve in Simferopol in June and August, causing significant damage to the archaeological site.

Володимир Шкаєв