The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomes the adoption on April 21 by the UNESCO Executive Board, at its 224th session, of the resolution “UNESCO’s Emergency Action and Assistance Program for Ukraine”.

Through this resolution, the member states of the Executive Board reaffirmed their solidarity with Ukraine in countering the consequences of Russia’s full-scale war against our country and called on the Director-General of UNESCO to continue systematically monitoring the situation in Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, within the Organization’s mandate.

We are grateful to those Member States of the UNESCO Executive Board, as well as the delegation of the European Union, which during the discussion reaffirmed their support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, emphasized the need for continued support and assistance to Ukraine from UNESCO, and condemned the gross violations of international law by the Russian Federation, which continues to carry out destructive attacks on cultural and educational sites, including World Heritage sites, is destroying Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, killing civilians, and committing other war crimes.

In its statement, Ukraine highlighted the massive and devastating impact of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine on all areas covered by the Organization’s mandate — education, science, culture, media, and freedom of expression. It was noted, in particular, that thousands of educational and scientific institutions have been damaged or destroyed, and a significant number of scholars have been forced to work outside the country. It was also emphasized that the media sector is facing systematic attacks, resulting in the deaths of journalists.

Particular attention was paid to the destruction of Ukraine’s cultural heritage sites, which constitutes a gross violation of international humanitarian law and relevant UNESCO conventions.

The Ukrainian delegation thanked UNESCO and the Organization’s Secretariat for implementing the Emergency Assistance Program for our country, as well as for mobilizing international support. At the same time, it was emphasized that the scale of the challenges far exceeds available resources, and international support must be strengthened.

We believe that the Executive Board’s decision to provide assistance to Ukraine is an important indication that the international community remains united in its support for Ukraine and continues to prioritize the protection of UNESCO’s mandate areas amid the war.

Ukraine is grateful to its international partners for their solidarity and calls for further joint action to protect culture, education, science, and freedom of expression even in the context of war.