Russia looted priceless art and museum pieces from Kherson says Ukraine's Culture Minister

Russian troops retreating from Kherson looted nearly 15,000 artefacts from the Kherson Art Museum, Ukraine's Culture Minister said on Saturday (November 19).

"They (Russian forces) simply robbed two museums and stole the most significant artifacts. In Art museum, it probably was almost 80 percent of collection. And big part in another museum, mainly the most expensive pictures (paintings), coins, " Oleksandr Thachenko, Ukraine's Minister of Culture said.

The Kherson Art Museum said on Facebook a few dozen of Russian soldiers arrived at the museum on October 31 and for the next three days were seen carrying out paintings and works of art wrapped in pieces of cloth from the museum which were loaded onto trucks. According to the museum's Facebook, the looted artifacts were transferred to Simferopol in Crimea.

The collection of the Kherson Art Museum, also known as the Shovkunenko Kherson Regional Art Museum contained religious paintings dating back to the 17th century, Ukrainian art of the 19th century as well as collections of modernist and contemporary Ukrainian art.

Exposition of the Kherson Regional Museum contained some 10,000 archeological artifacts including items found during excavations of the ancient Greek colony of Olbia. The vast collection of over 173,000 artifacts stored in the museum coves the region’s natural history, pre and post revolutionary history.

To strenghten its presence in the occupied Kherson Russian authorities attempted to turn the city's regional theatre into a Russian cultural centre but with very limited success.