Ukraine slams UNESCO over response to Lviv attack
Photo: Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
UNESCO’s response to the Russian strike on the Bernardine Monastery in Lviv is disgraceful, as the organization did not even mention who carried out the attack, said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi during a briefing.
He recalled that Ukraine had called on UNESCO the previous day, March 24, to respond to the drone strike on Lviv.
"UNESCO responded. Well, it’s a disgrace, what else can be said? If they cannot even mention who carried out the strike, and it’s portrayed as some kind of abstract attack by some aliens on Lviv, then what is there to talk about? Unfortunately, this is a verdict on the dysfunction of this organization and its inability to call things by their proper names," he said.
The spokesperson also noted that footage of a Russian Shahed drone striking the Bernardine Monastery had been seen across the internet.
"What more is needed to say that it was Russia, or simply to state that this was a Russian strike? What is the problem in general? Unfortunately, we can state that Ukraine’s air defense system today contributes more to the protection of UNESCO World Heritage sites than UNESCO itself, or even the entire UN system combined," the official stressed.
Strike on the Bernardine Monastery
On March 24, Russian forces carried out a large-scale attack on Ukraine, launching both missiles and drones overnight. Drone launches continued into the morning.
Russian forces also targeted cities in western Ukraine. Several strikes hit Lviv. One of the Shahed drones struck a residential building in the city center as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site — the Bernardine Monastery.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as "absolute perversion."
Following the strike, UNESCO expressed deep concern and said it was ready to provide emergency assistance.
