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Transcript/ScriptUKRAINE HERITAGE SITES
HEADLINE: In face of Russian attacks, Ukraine defends its monuments - and its identity
TEASER: Ukrainians say Russian forces are targeting heritage sites in line with the Kremlin’s claim that Ukraine is part of Russia
PUBLISHED: 7/03/24, 5:15 pm
BYLINE: Anna Chernikova
DATELINE: Kyiv
VIDEOGRAPHER: Eugene Shynkar, Vladyslav Smilianets, Agency
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, DLJ
VIDEO SOURCES: VOA ORIGINAL, REUTERS
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV X RADIO _X_
TRT: 2:54
VID APPROVED BY: Baragona
TYPE: TVR
NOTES: FOR PRODUCTION WEDNESDAY; Email questions and edited script to achernikova@associates.voanews.com))
((INTRO))
[[As Ukraine’s war against Russia’s invasion drags on, Ukrainians are fighting to not only preserve their territory, but also their history. Ukrainians say Russia is deliberately attacking their cultural monuments in a bid to erase the country’s history and its identity as a separate nation. For VOA, Anna Chernikova reports from Kyiv.]]
((VIDEO: FOOTAGE OF THE KYIV MONUMENT THAT SURVIVED RUSSIAN STRIKE))
((NARRATOR))
This monument to Ukrainian politician and historian Mykhailo Hrushevskyi in central Kyiv survived a massive Russian shelling that killed six people in 2022.
((VIDEO: SLAVA BALBEK IN HIS OFFICE; OFFICE WORKING MODE + BALBEK SCROLLING THE MONUMENTS’ PROTECTION PLAN IMAGES; BALBEK WITH ANNA NEAR THE MONUMENT))
((NARRATOR))
Their lives were lost, but Kyiv architect Slava Balbek is determined to save the things that remind Ukrainians of the nation for which they are fighting.
((VIDEO: SLAVA BALBEK, UKRAINIAN ARCHITECT TALKING))
((Slava Balbek, Ukrainian Architect, MALE IN UKRAINIAN)) A7688: 09ʼ38ʼʼ-09ʼ48ʼʼ
“The hit was 80 meters from the monument, and the explosive wave completely destroyed the shell that was on the side of the explosion.”
((ACT TRIMMED))
[[RADIO VERSION: Balbeck describes the damage, saying the shell hit 80 meters from the monument and shock wave destroyed the side facing the blast.]]
((VIDEO: BALBEK TALKS TO ANNA IN HIS OFFICE; BALBEK’S TEAM; IMAGES OF THE MONUMENTS COVERED WITH PROTECTION SHIELDS ACROSS KYIV))
((NARRATOR))
Balbek has launched what he says is a long-term initiative to protect cultural landmarks from Russian shelling by constructing protective shields around them. The shields cover up the marks - and the ugliness of war - but also serve as reminders of what’s going on.
((VIDEO: SLAVA BALBEK, UKRAINIAN ARCHITECT TALKING; WARTIME OBJECTS LOCATED AROUND THE CITY))
((Slava Balbek, Ukrainian Architect, MALE IN UKRAINIAN)) A7688: 07’08’’-07’17’’
“The aesthetics that surround us, the military aesthetics, are also very important. They have an impact on the consciousness of people who walk past them.”
[[RADIO VERSION: Balbek says the aesthetics in these surroundings, which he refers to as military aesthetics, are also very important. He says they have an impact on the consciousness on people who walk past them.]]
((VIDEO: AGENCY FOOTAGE OF PUTIN SPEAKING))
((NARRATOR))
Vladimir Putin claims Ukraine is Russian territory and denies the existence of a separate Ukrainian nation.
((VIDEO: ANNA TALKS TO MARYNA; REUTERS FOOTAGE OF THE UKRAINIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE DESTROYED BY RUSSIAN STRIKES))
((NARRATOR))
As cultural researcher Maryna Sobotiuk sees it, Putin’s forces are deliberately attacking Ukrainian monuments as part of the Kremlin’s bid to deny and destroy Ukraine’s national identity.
((VIDEO: MARYNA SOBOTIUK, CULTURAL RESEARCHER TALKING))
((Maryna Sobotiuk, Cultural Researcher, FEMALE IN UKRAINIAN)) 02'44''- 02'57''
“They began to spread their narratives in the world, that allegedly Ukraine is a smaller brother, that Ukraine has no history of its own, no culture of its own, and that it is all “ours.” (Russian).
[[RADIO VERSION: ‘How did Russia begin an information war against Ukraine in general?’ she asks. The Russians began to spread their narratives around the world, she says, that claim Ukraine is Russia’s smaller brother; that Ukraine has no history of its own; no culture of its own, and that Ukraine is all Russian.]]
((VIDEO: KREMLIN; RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON; UKRAINIAN ARTILERY - AGENCY))
((NARRATOR))
Russia denies its attacks specifically target cultural heritage sites, saying its forces only aim for places of strategic importance.
((VIDEO: FOOTAGE OF UKRAINIAN STREETS AND CULTURAL LANDMARKS PROTECTED/DEMAGED/DESTROYED))
((NARRATOR))
Sobotiuk explains how she sees Russia’s playbook: First, Moscow wants to destroy Ukraine’s identity, then it wants to make Ukraine disappear as a nation.
(( For radio: Having absorbed the cultural codes, she says, one can then take the territory very easily.))
((VIDEO: MARYNA SOBOTIUK, CULTURAL RESEARCHER TALKING))
((Maryna Sobotiuk, Cultural Researcher, FEMALE IN UKRAINIAN)) 07'57''- 08'03''
“Having absorbed the cultural codes, one can take the territory very easily then.”
((VIDEO: REUTERS UNESCO HEADQUARTERS FOOTAGE; DAMAGED AND DESTROYED UKRAINIAN CULTURAL SIGHTS))
((NARRATOR))
UNESCO says the monetary cost of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s culture and tourism sectors has reached 3.5 billion dollars since the start of the full-scale invasion.
((VIDEO: STREETS OF KYIV; DAMAGED OR DESTROYED UKRAINIAN CULTURAL SIGHTS))
((NARRATOR))
Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture says 3,000 cultural sites and objects have either been damaged or destroyed by Russian strikes.
((VIDEO: REUTERS FOOTAGE OF RUSSIAN STRIKES IN UKRAINE; DEMAGED CULTURAL LANDMARKS; UNESCO ASSEMBLY))
((NARRATOR))
Ukraine wants international organizations to increase monitoring and hold Russia accountable for violating parts of the 1954 Hague Convention on protecting cultural heritage sites in armed conflicts.
((VIDEO: MORE SHOTS OF BALBEK & HIS PROJECT; FOOTAGE OF OTHER MONUMENTS COVERED IN THE PROTECTION SHIELDS; GENERAL VIEW OF SOME FAMOUS CULTURAL HERITAGE SIGHTS))
((NARRATOR))
While Russia’s attacks continue, Slava Balbek will continue his work to shield Ukraine’s monuments.
His fear and that of other Ukrainians is that unless the international community moves to help protect these sites, Ukraine’s history - along with some of its territory - could be lost forever.
((Anna Chernikova, VOA News, Kyiv))
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