Scythian Gold collection to be returned to Ukraine soon – Ministry of Culture

This is reported by the government portal.

At the time of the occupation of Crimea in 2014, the gold artifacts were on display in the Netherlands. They will return to Ukraine after almost nine years of litigation.

"The Ministry of Culture, together with its partners from the Netherlands, is carrying out a number of activities aimed at returning the collection of artifacts to Ukraine as soon as possible," he said.

What is known about the Scythian Gold collection

The exhibition Scythian Gold includes more than 560 items from the museum fund of Ukraine, which have been in the Netherlands since 2013. After the occupation of Crimea by Russia, Ukraine defended its right to the exhibits to prevent them from being transferred to museums controlled by the occupying power.

On October 26, 2021, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled to return to Ukraine the exhibits of The Golden Island in the Black Sea exhibition, which were stored in museums on the peninsula before Russia's occupation of Crimea.

Subsequently, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the decision of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal to return the Scythian Gold to Ukraine.

"A long-awaited victory for Ukraine in the Amsterdam court! The Scythian Gold will return to Ukraine. I am grateful to the court for a fair decision, and to the teams of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture for the result. We always return what is ours. First, we will return the Scythian Gold, and then Crimea," Zelenskyy said.

And on June 9, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands approved a decision to return gold artifacts from Crimea to Ukraine.

Later, the Ministry of Culture reported that Ukrainians would be able to see the collection at the National Museum of History of Ukraine after it was returned.