<Czech>Česko chce při předsednictví pomáhat záchraně ukrajinského kulturního dědictví</Czech> <English>Czech Republic wants to help save Ukrainian cultural heritage during its presidency</English>

Lviv/Prague – The Czech Republic wants to organize European expert teams to assist war-torn Ukraine during its presidency of the EU Council. These teams should work in collaboration with selected theaters, cinemas, museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions to focus on the conservation, reconstruction, and digitization of Ukraine's tangible cultural heritage. Czech Minister of Culture Martin Baxa said this today at a meeting of culture ministers from Central and Eastern European countries and the Baltic states in Lviv.

He also stated that the Czech Republic would consider a formal call from the Council of Ministers to establish partnerships between European Cities of Culture, individual sites designated as European Heritage, and other initiatives within the EU with Ukrainian cities, monuments, institutes, and creatives, initially at a political level and after the end of the war conflict for physical transnational cooperation. This was reported in a press release by the Czech Ministry of Culture following the meeting.

Along with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksandr Tkachenko, Baxa today held discussions with the ministers of Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. The participants unanimously agreed that there is a deliberate destruction of Ukrainian cultural monuments and cultural heritage by Russia.

In his speech, Baxa reminded that Russian troops are literally ravaging Ukraine's cultural heritage. In addition to bombings, there have also been recorded instances of looting of artistic artifacts. "The army often targets culturally and symbolically significant sites. The number of attacks on cultural monuments, combined with official Russian statements denying Ukrainian statehood, is shocking," he stated.

The Czech Republic is among the countries that help Ukraine not only with arms supplies and political support. It has also taken in several hundred thousand refugees, and Czech state, private, and non-profit organizations are trying to facilitate their stay in the Czech Republic or adaptation to life in a new country, including access to local culture on preferential terms. Specialized institutions are offering assistance to Ukrainian museums or monuments.

In May, the Czech Republic sent packaging and other materials necessary for the evacuation and preservation of culturally significant items to Ukraine. The materials were purchased for two million crowns based on the needs of the Ukrainian side, and the government approved the provision of assistance. The packaging and restoration materials include bubble wrap, archival folders, polyethylene foam, or polyethylene fabrics.

Support for Ukrainian culture was also shown in the Czech Republic by the organizers of the Book World fair, where Ukrainian literature had its own stand. There was a concert to support the granting of candidate country status to Ukraine by the EU on Prague's Kampa Island titled Life Will Win, as well as a concert Ukrainian Freedom Voices, which took place as part of the Metronome Prague festival. Both concerts donated their proceeds to support Ukraine. Charitable events supporting Ukraine have been taking place in the Czech Republic since the outbreak of the conflict and have had a great response among the people.