Scythian treasures from Crimea including a solid gold helmet that had been lent to the Netherlands 10 years ago have been returned to Ukraine in what Kyiv said was a “symbolic and historic” victory over Russia.
Moscow, which illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 while the artefacts were still out of the country, had laid claim to them, leading to a decade-long legal battle over their ownership.
With both Ukraine and the museums in Russian-occupied Crimea demanding the 1,000 artefacts be handed over to them, the decision over their ownership was left to the Dutch Supreme Court.
The Dutch sided with Ukraine in June and the artefacts have now been returned to Kyiv.
The images were obtained from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on 28th November along with a statement saying: “‘Scythian gold’ was returned to Ukraine thanks to the materials of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine.
“Thanks to the materials of the Security Service and the Security Service of Ukraine, the collection of
‘Scythian gold’ worth USD 1.5 million was returned to Ukraine.
“The struggle for the fate of these artefacts lasted almost 10 years with the participation of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.”
Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the SBU, is quoted as saying: “We returned home not just valuables that were taken out of Crimea in 2013, but a part of our history. For the SBU, as well as for our country in general, this case is symbolic.
“It shows that Ukraine never gives up what belongs to it by law. Just as the Ukrainians returned the “Scythian gold”. We will also return Crimea, Donbas and the rest of the occupied territories. We will fight for our people, for our values and for our history!”
The statement also said: “Currently, there are 565 antiquities in Ukraine that were exported from Crimea to the EU in 2013 for display in private European museums.
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“According to the investigation, according to the signed agreements, the entire ancient collection was supposed to be returned to Ukraine in the summer of 2014.
“But this did not happen – the artefacts remained abroad, and the officials of the Crimean museums, who then moved to Kyiv, removed themselves from the performance of their duties.
“In connection with this, in the same year, criminal proceedings were initiated on the facts of illegal stay of cultural values abroad.
“Since then, procedural actions and lawsuits regarding the return of Ukrainian antiquities continued.
“As part of the criminal proceedings, materials were collected that allowed the Supreme Court of the Netherlands to make a final decision on this matter in favour of Ukraine.
“In addition, the court rejected the so-called ‘cassation appeal’ of the occupying ‘museum administrations’ in the temporarily occupied Crimea regarding the transfer of Ukrainian artefacts to them.
“So far, the collection has been returned even without charging the costs for the storage of museum exhibits.
“Measures to return other elements of ‘Scythian gold’ to Ukraine are underway.”
Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 645th day of the full-scale war.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February 2022 and 30th November 2023, Russia had lost about 328,760 personnel, 5,551 tanks, 10,340 armoured combat vehicles, 7,909 artillery units, 910 multiple launch rocket systems, 600 air defence systems, 323 warplanes, 324 helicopters, 5,954 drones, 1,567 cruise missiles, 22 warships, 1 submarine, 10,361 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 1,124 units of special equipment.
Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.
Ukraine has said that it has killed five high-ranking Russian officials in a strike in an occupied part of Kherson in southern Ukraine.
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Ukraine has said that its air defences shot down all 21 Russian drones launched at the western Khmelnytskyi region overnight on Tuesday.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces said that the strikes had targeted the officials at a meeting in the village of Yuvileyne thanks to “information provided by the underground and concerned local residents”.
Khmelnytskyi is home to a Ukrainian air base.
Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun has said that Russia is increasing its attacks in eastern Ukraine.
He said that Russia had “doubled its artillery fire and airstrikes” and “intensified ground infantry attacks”.
Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary-General of NATO, has warned that the alliance must not underestimate Russia’s ability to continue fighting its war in Ukraine.
He said: “Russia’s economy is on a war footing, Putin has a high tolerance for casualties, and Russian aims in Ukraine have not changed.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has said that the European Union has so far delivered about 300,000 of the one million that it has promised.
He said that Ukraine’s war effort meant that Ukrainian and NATO arms production needed to be more aligned and that there was a need to create a “Euro-Atlantic common area” of defence industries.
Kuleba also said that he had seen no sign that Ukraine’s NATO allies were suffering from fatigue over providing it with support.
He said: “I heard a clear ‘No’ to any reference to fatigue, and I heard [a] clear ‘Yes’ to increased support to Ukraine.”
He added: “They understand that in order for them to feel safe, in order for them not to end up in a situation where NATO’s soldiers will have to fight, Ukraine has to win in this war.”
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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