The Russian aggressor is waging war not only against Ukraine’s people, but also against Ukraine’s history, culture, and identity. That’s why international support is vital in the fight for justice, truth, and the protection of Ukrainian cultural heritage from destruction and theft.
Ambassador of Ukraine to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, emphasized this in her opening remarks at a panel discussion on Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s cultural and artistic heritage — and the steps international partners can take to protect it.
The event was organized by Atlantic Council and The Antiquities Coalition. As part of the program, the Antiquities Coalition officially added a Ukrainian artifact to its “Ten Most Wanted Antiquities” list — highlighting the most valuable looted, stolen, and missing cultural objects worldwide.
The featured item: a bull figurine from Mariupol, dated to 6000 BC, was stolen during the full-scale Russian invasion and remains missing. This archaeological artifact, once housed at the Mariupol Local History Museum, was discovered in the 1930s by Ukrainian scientist Mykola Makarenko. Carved from a boar’s tusk, it was found in a child’s grave at the Mariupol Neolithic burial ground — one of the largest Neolithic sites in Eastern Europe.
Its inclusion on the list underscores the urgent need to restore and return Ukraine’s looted heritage.
The discussion featured:
– Galyna Grygorenko, Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine
– Brian Daniels, Director of Research and Programs for the Penn Cultural Heritage Center at the Penn State
– Louise Shelley, Professor and Director, Center for Countering Terrorism, Transnational Crime, and Corruption, George Mason University.
The event was introduced by John E. Herbst, Senior Director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, and moderated by Deborah Lehr, President and Founder of the Antiquities Coalition. Robert Edsel, best-selling author, cultural heritage advocate, and Founder of the Monuments Men and Women Foundation, delivered the closing remarks.