U.S. Department of State Announces $7 Million for Ukraine Cultural Heritage Response Initiative

With Ukraine’s cultural identity and heritage under continuous threat and attack by Russian forces, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announced today that its Ukraine Cultural Heritage Response Initiative will invest $7 million to support Ukrainian efforts to protect its cultural heritage.

The Initiative was developed to support Ukraine’s efforts to protect and repair damage to Ukrainian cultural heritage sites and collections, as well as expand and strengthen public-private partnerships with civil society in Ukraine.  It is part of the United States’ broader global efforts to preserve and protect cultural heritage.

In cooperation with Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, Ukrainian NGOs, and international partners, the Initiative will give priority to cultural heritage sites and collections directly impacted by Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine.  It will support activities such as the documentation of damaged sites and collections for accountability, protection from damage and theft, emergency stabilization of damaged sites, the development and implementation of conservation and restoration plans, cultural heritage response coordination, and specialized training.

The Initiative complements broader efforts coordinated by ECA’s Cultural Heritage Center to support emergency preparedness and response, monitor Russia’s destruction of cultural heritage in Ukraine through the Conflict Observatory, and foster public-private partnerships to preserve and protect cultural heritage.

The $7 million in additional funding builds on more than 20 years of U.S. engagement on cultural heritage protection and preservation work with the Government of Ukraine through the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP).  To learn more about U.S. efforts to preserve and protect Ukraine’s cultural heritage, click here.