Piotr Gliński held the meeting with diplomats from some 50 countries at the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw on Tuesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Together they watched a Polish government-funded documentary about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, entitled Erase the Nation, and toured an exhibition about the war, Ukraine. Under a Different Sky.
Russia 'committing genocide,' seeking to 'erase Ukrainian culture’
In his speech to the diplomatic corps, Gliński said that Erase the Nation provided "evidence of the destruction of Ukrainian heritage sites, from Lviv, through Chernihiv, Ivankiv, Kyiv and Kharkiv to Izyum and Bohorodychne.”
He added that the documentary, directed by Polish journalist Tomasz Grzywaczewski, showed “crimes perpetrated against the heritage of lay and church culture, from archaeological artefacts to contemporary libraries, museums and schools.”
Gliński, who is also a Polish deputy prime minister, told the meeting: “We are absolutely outraged by the Russian Federation’s unprovoked attack on our close neighbour Ukraine. All the Polish people are profoundly shocked and appalled by the human tragedies playing out right next to us.”
He said that “from the start of the invasion, the Russians have been not only committing genocide against the Ukrainian nation, but also perpetrating cultural crimes against Ukraine's national identity as they seek to erase Ukrainian culture, history and heritage.”
Gliński told foreign diplomats that “before the war, Ukraine was home to over 5,000 museums, 65 historical and cultural reserves and 170,000 registered heritage objects, including seven inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.”
In the first nine months of the war, Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Information Policy "documented more than 800 instances of heritage destruction by the Russian army,” Gliński said, adding that "these sad statistics are rising every day.”
‘It is our moral duty to help Ukraine'
Gliński stressed: “It is our moral duty to help Ukraine … We have created the Centre for Aid to Culture in Ukraine (CPKU), which coordinates domestic and foreign efforts to protect Ukraine’s cultural resources, disseminates information and educates people about Ukraine's cultural heritage, especially the threats and losses caused by the war.”
He added that "the CPKU works with many Polish cultural institutions, including museums, national archives and libraries."
Poland 'will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes'
Gliński also said that “Poland supports its neighbour by every available means ... and will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes."
He urged the gathering to “not be indifferent to crimes being committed before our very eyes.”
Russian culture 'associated with barbarity,' war crimes: Ukrainian ambassador
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Zvarych, paid tribute to the artists whose works make up the Ukraine. Under a Different Sky exhibition.
He said: “This exhibition is also an expression of our artists’ fight for a free Ukraine, for the freedom and sovereignty of our country.”
Zvarych added that Russian President Vladimir Putin, “in his attempt to destroy Ukrainian culture, actually destroyed Russian culture, which is now being associated with barbarity, bestiality and war crimes.”
“We are holding up; we are developing, with support from our partners,” Zvarych also said.
Curated by Victoria Burlaka, Beata Łupińska-Rytel and Marcel Skierski, Ukraine. Under a Different Sky features more than 200 works by 32 Ukrainian artists, including Daria Koltsova, Andriy Boyko and Maria Kulikovska.
The exhibition runs at Warsaw’s Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art until May 14.
Tuesday is day 377 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, wpolityce.pl