Russia prepares to "evacuate" museum treasures from Crimea

This is reported by the National Resistance Centre with reference to a letter from the Russian Ministry of Culture of Crimea.

The document does not specify the reasons for the removal of museum collections, nor does it indicate the place of their likely arrival.

"But there is a high risk that the most valuable items will be transported from Crimea to the internationally recognized territory of the Russian Federation," the Centre says.

In the letter, the occupation authorities point out the need to clarify the list of "places of evacuation of valuables" in case of disasters or hostilities. The order emphasizes that such a list should have been approved long ago in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation, but the enemy is asking for confirmation of the information through a new "letter from the Ministry of Culture". Thus, the administrations of Crimean museums were given time to do so by July 1.

According to the document, the enemy will take at least some of the cultural and historical monuments outside the peninsula.

"The Russians are trying to speed up the process of typology and evaluation of museum artifacts in Crimea. Museum workers in Crimea are creating electronic registers of works of art and historical monuments and transferring the information to the electronic museum fund of the Russian Federation. According to an old Russian tradition, Moscow is preparing to loot Crimean museums and take away the most valuable exhibits when it is time for Russians to leave Crimea," the resistance explains.

It is also noted that the signatory of the letter of the Ministry of Culture in Crimea is the Deputy Minister of Culture Andrey Rostenko, the former head of the occupation administration of Yalta.

The article adds that thousands of Ukrainian artifacts are already stored in Russian museums, as "the looting or destruction of historical and cultural sites and monuments in the Russian-occupied territories has reached a systemic level".

• On June 13, media reported that in the annexed Crimea, Russians confiscated the property of Ukrainian singer Jamala and former Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and a criminal case was opened against the singer, and she was put on the wanted list.