More than 250 cultural centers have been "damaged or destroyed" and thousands of objects have been looted since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, according to Ukrainian officials quoted by the New York Times.
Ukraine has accused Russian forces of looting valuables from a museum in the southern city of Melitopol as fighting and rocket attacks continue in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Melitopolis Mayor Ivan Fedorov said on television that "the orcs have taken our Scythian gold", using a derogatory term by which many Ukrainians refer to the invading Russian soldiers. "We do not know where they got it from," he added.
Meanwhile, Mariupol city council officials announced via Telegram this week that Russian forces had stolen "more than 2.000 unique exhibits" from the besieged city's museums - including medals, a "unique Torah manuscript" and " Gospel of 1811 created by the Venetian printing house for the Greeks of Mariupol ".
The New York Times reported that the director of the Melitopolis Museum of Local History, Leila Ibrahimova, said the museum's staff had hidden the priceless treasure in boxes in a cellar. After being abducted by Russian troops and interrogated for several hours in March, Ibrahimova fled Melitopol via a Kyiv-controlled humanitarian corridor.
It is recalled that Melitopolis has been occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of March.
Last week, however, he was informed by the museum's caretaker that the Russians had discovered the boxes with the help of the museum's "appointed Russian director".
The gold of the Scythian empire, dating from the 4th century BC, was extracted by a man in a white coat with "special gloves and a long pair of tweezers", who broke into the basement of a museum in Melitopolis, accompanied by a group of armed Russian soldiers, the New York Times reports.
Russian soldiers and intelligence officers watch a Russian man in a white lab coat carefully remove 2.300-year-old objects and take them with him.
According to the New York Times, at least 198 gold items, rare old weapons, many silver coins and medals were removed.
Other museums were looted - Damage to over 250 cultural institutions
Ukrainian officials had earlier said Russian forces had looted paintings, paintings and sculptures from a museum in the port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Officials said on April 29 that more than 250 cultural institutions had been damaged or destroyed by the Russian invasion on February 24.
Kyiv has accused the Russian government of pursuing a policy of "genocide" against the Ukrainian nation.
In an interview with Russian television, Russian-appointed museum director Yeven Horlachev said the objects "have great cultural value for the whole of the former Soviet Union" and accused museum staff of spending "a lot of effort and energy". to hide them.
Finally, the director of the Melitopolis museum, Ibrahimova, stated that the curator of the museum was abducted from her home under the threat of a gun on April 29 and has not heard from her since.