Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra

• Housing
• Legal framework 
• Management system/management plan 
• Urban development pressure
• High-rise buildings that could compromise the panorama of the historical monastic Dniepro river landscape (built)

N/A

On 10 January 2023, the State Party submitted a state of conservation report, which is available at https://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/198253. The report provides information on the measures taken by the State Party in response to Decision 44 COM 7B.59 of the World Heritage Committee and underlines threats and challenges in the protection and conservation of the property since the outbreak of the war, as follows:

• The development of the Management Plan is being completed and its submission to the World Heritage Centre was foreseen by 1 February 2023. The determined use regimes of the buffer zone are differentiated, they regulate construction in the buffer zone and, through their provisions, eliminate possible risks of loss of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property. The war situation has stalled the progress in establishing a Supervisory Board for the property, the finalisation of the ‘Historical and Architectural Key Plan of Kyiv’ and the city’s Mater Plan;
• Six monuments within the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra component of the property were selected in 2021 in the framework of the Great Restoration Programme aimed at the conservation of the immovable cultural heritage, but restoration works could not be completed due to the war: no funding was allocated to these projects in 2022;
• In 2020-2022, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine submitted to the World Heritage Centre 12 notifications about planned urban transformations in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines;
• Currently, the property faces not only the risk of a direct hit by Russian missiles and drones, but also the impact of shock and sound waves from the bombing of the city. Vibration loads may cause deterioration of the load-bearing capacity of the property’s structures and provoke a significant threat in the detachment of mosaics and ancient plaster decorated with frescoes. An additional threat is associated with emergency and rolling blackouts resulting in the shutdown of special equipment that maintains constant conditions at the property (microclimate, etc.).

The cultural and natural heritage of Ukraine remains under constant threat since the outbreak of the war on 24 February 2022.

UNESCO has expressed its deep concern, including through its statements, over the consequences of the war for the people of Ukraine and for culture in Ukraine, while reiterating the obligations of international law, including the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its two Protocols.

The war significantly raises the level of threat to Ukraine’s properties, especially those located in big cities such as Kyiv, L’viv and Odesa. Kyiv has suffered physical damage in the buffer zone of the World Heritage property. The ‘Historic Centre of Odesa’ was inscribed simultaneously on the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger on 25 January 2023, at the 18th extraordinary session of the World Heritage Committee.

The World Heritage Centre has not, at the time of writing this report, received the new Management Plan for the property.

On 18 January 2023, the World Heritage Centre, after having been alerted by the media of the approval of Law 5655 ‘On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning the Reform of the Urban Development Sphere’ by the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s Parliament), requested the feedback of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy and any other competent body in the field of heritage protection on this new law. In particular, clarity is being sought about the impact this law may have on the protection of cultural properties and the fulfilment of Ukraine’s obligations under the Convention.

It is commendable that the State Party pursues efforts to implement the previous Committee decisions and the mission’s recommendations despite extremely challenging circumstances it has been facing since the beginning of the war.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies consider that, as a result of the war in Ukraine, optimal conditions are no longer met to fully guarantee the protection of the OUV of the World Heritage property ‘Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’. In accordance with Article 11.4 of the World Heritage Convention and paragraphs 177 to 179 of the Operational Guidelines, the World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies consider that the property is threatened by serious and specific dangers. The war constitutes a potential danger to the property, as set out in Paragraph 179 of the Operational Guidelines that defines the criteria for the inscription of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies suggest that the World Heritage Committee should call upon the involved parties to refrain from any action that would cause direct or indirect damage to cultural heritage of Ukraine, in particular to its World Heritage properties and their buffer zones and wider settings, as well as sites included on the Tentative List of Ukraine, and to fulfil their obligations under international law, including Article 6 of the World Heritage Convention.

The World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies remain concerned that risk preparedness measures for the property are not yet sufficient in terms of analysis of potential vibrational impacts on building fabric of nearby missile strikes, and measures to address these impacts. Therefore, the Committee may wish to encourage the State Party to give high priority to the development of an emergency preparedness and risk mitigation plan, in collaboration with the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies.