Ukraine's Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko has appealed to UNESCO with a request to deprive Russia of the status of a UNESCO member and change the host country of the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee.

"Russia's armed offensive against Ukraine is destroying numerous civilian and cultural heritage sites in Ukraine. Countless historical and architectural monuments and archaeological sites are under the threat of artillery shelling and uncontrolled movement of heavy military trucks," Tkachenko wrote on Telegram.

The minister noted that since 2014 the Russian Federation has been systematically violating international humanitarian law and international conventions on the protection of cultural heritage, in particular, on the Crimean peninsula.

"Russia's actions have already caused damage to the ancient city of Tauride Chersonese, included in the World Heritage List, as well as the Bakhchisarai Palace of the Crimean Khans, included in the indicative list, and other cultural heritage sites," he said.

"Given this, Ukraine considers the continuation of Russia's presence in UNESCO unacceptable. We expect that the Ukrainian side will receive an answer and a decision on this issue as soon as possible," he added.

Source: https://t.me/otkachenkokyiv/1230