In Sumy Region, Cultural Heritage Sites Began To Be Marked With“Blue Shield”

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) This was announced on Facebook by Oleh Hryhorov, head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, according to Ukrinform.

“This project was launched for the first time in Ukraine in our region. A total of 173 special markings were installed on 52 objects, including architectural structures, museums, archives, libraries, theaters, and religious shrines,” he said.

According to reports, the Blue Shield is an international symbol established by the 1954 Hague Convention. It indicates that an object is of cultural value, and its destruction or damage during wartime is considered a war crime.

“Sumy was the first because we are a border town that is under daily shelling. The enemy is trying to hit cultural objects because they are symbols of our history and identity,” Hryhorov said.

According to the Sumy Regional Military Administration , a specialized unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the protection of cultural heritage has installed 173 markers on 52 monuments, including architectural sites, religious buildings, museums, archives, libraries, theaters, and cultural centers. The marking of objects was carried out as part of the first stage of a pilot project to mark cultural values with an international symbol of protection.

As noted by Kyrylo Kobtsev, representative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's cultural heritage protection department, the marking of cultural values is one of the key steps in implementing the Hague Convention on the Protection of Historical Heritage in Wartime.

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The objects are marked with an emblem in the form of a“Blue Shield” - blue and white crossed triangles. This sign confirms the protected status of monuments under international law, and their destruction or damage is considered a war crime.

As reported, the Central Directorate for Civil-Military Cooperation of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Sumy Regional Military Administration, is carrying out measures in the Sumy region to mark cultural heritage sites and cultural property with the (emblem)“Blue Shield” – as provided for by the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

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