The Civil Protection's role in the protection of the cultural heritage in Ukraine

After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the National Service of Civil Protection was immediately activated to respond to the humanitarian crisis.
While the National Plan for reception and assistance to people fleeing the war was being prepared, an assessment of the resources to dispatch was carried out under the coordination of the Department following the Ukrainian requests made through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Materials, equipment, reception camps, drugs, medical supplies, essential goods, and MedEvac missions (medical evacuation of patients in need of specialized assistance and hospitalized in in different Italian health facilities) have been sent in support of Ukraine. The aid sent to the population of Ukraine can be browsed on the dedicated map.

The details of the assistance provided by Italy in the preservation of cultural heritage endangered by the war feature in the second issue of the PROCULTHER-NET newsletter, available online. 
Since the war's outbreak, more than 150 Ukrainian cultural sites have been damaged, including religious and historical buildings, monuments, museums and libraries.
Italy has been the first country to respond to the request for assistance sent in March by the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture through the CECIS- Common Emergency Communication and Information System of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

The Civil Protection Department, as Mechanism focal point, engaged all relevant institutional actors to ensure full support. The Italian Ministry of Culture donated ten kits containing materials for securing, salvaging, first aid and packing of cultural assets damaged or at risk of damage, supplemented with the necessary equipment such as vacuum cleaners and compressors and the main personal protective equipment for the operators, for a total value of more than 80 thousand euros. The shipment of the material to the Romanian hub in Suceava occurred few days after the request of the Ukrainian authorities.
The General Directorate for Cultural Heritage Security of the Italian Ministry of Culture also monitored the protection of artworks, while the Carabinieri Command-Cultural Heritage Protection Unit contributed with their know-how to facilitate the census of the most exposed sites.

The operation highlighted the key role of the PROCULTHER-NET project in implementing coordinated and cohesive actions to protect cultural heritage at risk, and the need to strengthen the community involved in protecting cultural heritage in emergency situations.