On 15 August, Acting Foreign Minister of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha met in Kyiv with UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany, who is visiting Ukraine for the first time since taking office.
The Acting Foreign Minister welcomed Khaled El-Enany to Ukraine and thanked him for this important visit, as well as for UNESCO’s consistent support for Ukraine. Andrii Sybiha expressed confidence that the visit would give further impetus to the development of cooperation between Ukraine and the Organization.
“Khaled El-Enany’s first visit to Ukraine as UNESCO Director-General is an important signal of solidarity and support. It is particularly symbolic that the visit is taking place on the day when we mark the 975th anniversary of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra — a unique site of Ukrainian history and culture and a UNESCO World Heritage site,” Andrii Sybiha noted.
Against the backdrop of Russia’s deliberate attacks on Ukrainian cities, the meeting focused in particular on the protection of Ukraine’s cultural heritage, including the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and other World Heritage properties that remain under threat and continue to be damaged by Russia’s ongoing strikes. Andrii Sybiha stressed the importance of continued UNESCO monitoring of their condition, proper documentation of the damage caused by Russia, and efforts to ensure accountability for those responsible.
“Culture, education, science and historical heritage are integral parts of Ukrainian identity and a source of our society’s resilience. They are also important components of our national security. Russia fully understands their strategic importance, which is why its attacks on Ukrainian museums, monuments, universities, schools and scientific institutions are not accidental. They are part of a deliberate Russian policy aimed at destroying Ukraine and everything Ukrainian. Protecting these areas must remain an important priority of our cooperation with UNESCO,” the Acting Foreign Minister emphasised.
Andrii Sybiha stressed that Ukraine’s practical experience gained in the course of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine should be used to strengthen and improve international mechanisms for the protection of cultural heritage during armed conflicts.
Particular attention was also paid to the return of Ukrainian cultural and historical artefacts stolen by Russia. Andrii Sybiha stressed that the systematic removal of cultural heritage from the temporarily occupied territories has reached an industrial scale, and underscored the need to strengthen UNESCO’s instruments to facilitate the return of cultural heritage illegally removed by Russia.
The sides discussed further strengthening cooperation in the fields of culture, education and science. The Acting Foreign Minister highly appreciated UNESCO’s role in mobilising international support for Ukraine. As of August 2026, the Organization has mobilised more than USD 77 million in assistance to Ukraine across the areas of its mandate. In particular, during the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2026 in Gdańsk, an additional EUR 2.5 million was announced to support Ukraine’s cultural and scientific sectors.
During the meeting, Andrii Sybiha and Khaled El-Enany also viewed a special exhibition of archival documents dedicated to the history of Ukraine’s cooperation with UNESCO. Particular attention was drawn to documents from the archive of the world tour of the Ukrainian Republican Capella, 1919–1929, which was recently nominated for inclusion in the International Register of UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme.
Andrii Sybiha also thanked Khaled El-Enany for his personal engagement and support for Ukrainian initiatives and expressed hope for his leadership in further strengthening the partnership between Ukraine and UNESCO.
“We count on UNESCO’s principled position, continued practical support for Ukraine, and a resolute response to Russia’s attacks against our culture, education and science. Russia must be held accountable for all these crimes,” the Acting Foreign Minister concluded.