The Culture Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recognized the erasure of Ukrainian cultural identity as an instrument of the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine and an element of the policy of genocide, said member of the permanent delegation of the Verkhovna Rada to PACE Yevhenia Kravchuk (the Servant of the People faction).

"The PACE Culture Committee recognized the erasure of Ukrainian cultural identity as an instrument of the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine and an element of the policy of genocide aimed at destroying the Ukrainian nation. Just now the PACE Culture Committee in Copenhagen unanimously supported my resolution 'Countering the erasure of cultural identity in war and peace,'" Kravchuk wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.

According to her, among the key provisions of the document, which will be voted on in the hall at the June session of PACE, is ensuring full compensation for damage on the basis of international law, in particular, through restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition of destruction; raising awareness of how propaganda, colonial and neo-colonial practices, in particular the ideology of the "Russian world," can create the basis for violations of international law, including in relation to cultural heritage.

The document also proposes to provide sanctions against anyone who carries out or facilitates the illegal transfer or trade of artifacts, conducts illegal excavations or uses artifacts for their own purposes (exhibitions, auctions, scientific publications), as well as to ensure that authorities and involved government agencies are held accountable.

"The resolution states that the Russian Federation uses cultural 'cleansing' as a tool of war to deny the existence of another cultural identity and erase historical roots, values, heritage, literature, traditions and language. Such actions constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity and indicate a specific genocidal intent to destroy the Ukrainian nation, or at least part of it, in particular by destroying Ukrainian identity and culture. This is part of the genocide campaign that the Russian Federation is conducting against the Ukrainian people," Kravchuk noted.