UNESCO Condemns Russian Missile Strike on Historic Centre of Odesa, to Send Mission to Ukraine

UNESCO condemns Russia's missile attack on the historic centre of Odesa, which caused serious damage to World Heritage sites, the organisation reports on Facebook.

‘These repeated attacks must stop. International law must be respected,’ the statement said.

The organisation noted that its team is already working on operational documentation of the damage and, together with the Ukrainian authorities, is determining priority response measures.

‘UNESCO will send a mission in the near future,’ the organisation added.

The Odesa City Council reported which historical buildings were damaged by a missile strike on 31 January, Ukrinform reports.

‘On 31.01.2025, the Historic Centre of Odesa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was again the target of a missile attack. 

The building of the Bristol Hotel, one of the most prominent architectural structures in the city centre, has suffered significant damage, the extent of which has not yet been established,’ said Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov.

According to him, the powerful blast wave also damaged nearby historic buildings. In total, about 15 cultural heritage sites sustained varying degrees of damage. The main damage is broken window panes and displaced carpentry.

As The Gaze previously reported, on the night of 31 January, Ukraine suffered another deadly terrorist missile attack from Russia - the historic centre of Odesa, Poltava, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia were hit. So far, 12 people have been reported dead in Poltava as a result of a Russian strike on a residential building, and 117 injured.