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Louvre in Paris
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The Louvre Museum in Paris is temporarily hosting 16 Ukrainian works of art to protect them from the war. "That's not much in an ocean of despair, but it's still a symbol," museum director Laurence des Cars told AFP on Wednesday. Among the works transported to the French capital via Poland and Germany were five Byzantine icons from Kiev, which will be exhibited at the Louvre from 14 June.
The remaining eleven works are to be stored in the depot of the Louvre. At the beginning of October, a rocket hit near the Museum of Western and Oriental Art in Kiev, destroying the window panes. The bulk of the works have been moved to the depot of the Kiev museum, but there are problems with temperature fluctuations and power outages, des Car said.
At the end of October, a Ukrainian delegation was in Paris and asked for support. At that time, Unesco had registered 240 cultural sites damaged by the war. The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture counted almost twice as many destroyed or damaged cultural sites, including 35 museums.
The military-escorted transport to France was reportedly financially supported by the International Alliance for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in Conflict Zones.
feb/AFP