16/03/2026 Culture, Science, Education and Media
Yevheniia Kravchuk (Ukraine, ALDE), PACE Rapporteur on “Countering the erasure of cultural identity in times of war and peace”, made the following statement today:
“I am deeply concerned by the possibility of Russia reopening its pavilion at the Venice Biennale while its war of aggression against Ukraine continues.
Russia’s war is also a war against culture. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, 1,685 cultural heritage sites and 2,483 cultural infrastructure facilities have been damaged or destroyed in Ukraine, more than 500 of them completely ruined, while Ukrainian artists, writers and cultural figures are also being killed by Russia’s war.
Allowing Russia to return to major international cultural platforms risks creating a false sense of ‘business as usual’ while the deliberate destruction of Ukrainian cultural identity continues. Culture must protect democratic values, and not serve as a cover for aggression or propaganda."