Zelensky orders government to prepare law protecting Ukraine's cultural monuments

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on Aug. 15 instructing the Cabinet of Ministers to draft a bill on the protection of Ukrainian national shrines.

Zelensky's order coincided with the 975th anniversary of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Ukraine's most important historic and religious symbols. The Lavra was heavily damaged by a massive Russian missile strike in June.

"Today, we mark the 975th anniversary of the Lavra — almost a millennium," Zelensky said during a ceremony at the monastery complex.

"Here, at the Lavra, and in our other places like this — in our national shrines — you feel that you are part of something much greater and longer-lasting than your personal story, your personal experiences, and your personal memory. Today, I signed a decree on measures at the state level to protect Ukraine's national shrines."

The president's decree calls for a draft law on Ukraine's heritage sites to be developed by Aug. 24, when the country observes Independence Day. The aim of the bill is to preserve "the unique and irreplaceable values of the Ukrainian people as part of the world's heritage."

The new law should establish the criteria for designating a site as "a national shrine of the Ukrainian people." The category includes places significant to Ukraine's "historical memory, spirituality, and culture" as well as its political development.

The bill should also include additional measures to protect such shrines from Russian aggression, which has increasingly targeted Ukraine's cultural memory.

Zelensky's decree further instructs the Foreign Ministry to inform the international community about Russia's attacks against Ukrainian heritage sites, partnering with allies to hold Moscow accountable for this cultural destruciton.

The ministry should work to include more Ukrainian sites on the UNESCO World Heritage list and secure international funding for the protection, preservation, and restoration of Ukraine's most important monuments, the decree says.

The president was joined at the Lavra by UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany, who was making his first visit to Ukraine since assuming leadership over the agency. Zelensky and El-Enany met to discuss the inclusion of key Ukrainian landmarks in the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

"It is extremely important to preserve our cultural heritage, despite the deliberate Russian attacks against it, and to do everything possible to pass it on to future generations," Zelensky said.

Zelensky's latest decree follows a draft law on the establishment of a National Pantheon to honor Ukrainian heroes. The president submitted the bill in June, calling on the government to recognize generations of people who fought for Ukraine.

Russia's wave of mass strikes in spring and summer 2026 have made the past few months some of the deadliest for Ukrainian civilians since the start of the full-scale war. The assault has also taken aim at Ukraine's cultural identity.

A mass attack against Kyiv on May 24 damaged the National Art Museum, one of the oldest and most important museums in Ukraine. The same attack damaged government buildings, the Kyiv Opera Theater, the Ukrainian House, the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium, and the Chornobyl Museum.

Over 40% of the items in the Chornobyl Museum's collection were "irrevocably lost," the Interior Ministry said.

The June attack on the Lavra marked the second time Russian strikes had damaged the site. Previously, the Lavra had not been damaged by a military attack since World War II.

In late July, Kyiv authorities announced plans to remove protective structures from city monuments, as these barriers are not designed to withstand Russia's current weapons of choice — ballistic missiles and jet-powered drones.  

"(A)fter more than four years of war, the nature of the threats has changed, and so have our approaches to preserving monuments," Kyiv's Culture Department Director Serhii Anzhyiak said.