From Destruction to Digitization: Safeguarding Ukraine’s Cultural and Archival Heritage in Wartime

Numerous losses always accompany military operations or military conflicts. Moreover, it is not only about material values. One of the most famous examples is the losses during the war, which, along with human casualties, destroyed historical buildings, museums, estates, paintings, galleries, etc. Books, archival documents, churches, and other objects were destroyed. Taking into account the bitter experience of losses and seeking to preserve cultural heritage from the devastating effects of military conflicts, the international community has adopted several documents on the protection of cultural heritage during armed conflicts. The most important are the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and International Humanitarian Law. According to these documents, states involved in armed conflicts are obliged to conduct hostilities in such a way as not to affect cultural property, not to use it as military objectives, and to avoid looting and destruction. Ukraine and Russia are also parties to this convention. On February 24, 2022, Ukraine and the entire civilized world faced another act of crime–an attack by Russian troops on the territory of a neighboring independent country. Of course, no sober-minded person could have imagined that in the twenty-first century, the satisfaction of the ambitions and sick imperial fantasies of an old, senile grandfather would be realized at the expense of the lives of innocent citizens and, worse, children. But still. Unfortunately, the worst happened. Of course, no goal can be justified at the cost of human lives. Along with human losses, Ukraine constantly suffers material losses, including in the form of cultural heritage sites and various historical monuments. The entire settlements’ accompanying infrastructure and communications were destroyed during the invasion. In the context of these losses, it is advisable to consider in detail and assess the loss of cultural property because, unfortunately, they are already lost to history forever. The article presents the main measures to preserve Ukraine's cultural property during the war. In particular, the creation of digital models of architectural objects.