DISINFO: The West is exporting Orthodox treasures from Ukraine, intends to never return them
SUMMARY
The West is exporting the Orthodox treasures of Ukraine. For good. The fate of the colony is always sad. Sixteen of the rarest exhibits from the collections of the Kyiv National Museum of Art named after Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko were taken from Ukraine to the Louvre Museum in Paris. (…)The export of Orthodox treasures from Ukraine to the West is just beginning.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Ukrainian authorities being hostile to the Orthodox Church.
The temporary takeover in June 2023 of 16 old icons of Kyiv National Museum of Art named after Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko, in order to protect them from attacks and possible theft, by the Louvre Museum, is falsely presented as an action of illegal takeover of the Orthodox heritage. According to the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, 5 of the 16 icons are now exposed in the Louvre. In parallel, the icons, considered „masterpieces of sacred art”, will be the object of in-depth study and scientific analysis. „An international committee consisting of Ukrainian scientists and international specialists in this field will accompany the research”, the Minister said.
The basis for these actions is the memorandum of cooperation between the Louvre Museum, the Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and the Embassy of Ukraine in Paris, signed in December 2022.
See here a similar case claiming that Kyiv agrees with UNESCO to export the orthodox relics of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra to the EU.