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German culture minister visits Odesa

Saim Dušan Inayatullah
June 7, 2022

Claudia Roth has highlighted the destruction of cultural centers under Russian shelling. She is the first German government official to visit the strategic port city.

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Claudia Roth in front of a statue of French statesman Armand Emmanuel du Plessis covered in protective sandbags
Claudia Roth in front of a statue of French statesman Armand Emmanuel du Plessis covered in protective sandbagsImage: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture alliance

German Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth said Tuesday that Ukrainian identity is at stake as Russia continues its act of aggression against its neighbor.

"This war is also a war against culture, against the culture of democracy," the Green politician said during a visit to the port city of Odesa on the Black Sea.

After more than three months of conflict, she said that 375 cultural institutions had been destroyed or damaged, and 137 churches were also affected. "It becomes clear: it is about attacking the cultural identity of Ukraine," she said.

"We are now trying to send an international signal by supporting the nomination of Odesa's old town as a World Heritage City," Roth told German public broadcaster ZDF.

Roth's visit comes after an invitation from her Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksandr Tkachenko. She is the first German government official to visit the city.

Odesa has been the target of Russian shelling.

Zelenskyy: Russia should be excluded from UNESCO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also sought to highlight attacks on cultural centers in the city over the weekend, saying that artillery fire destroyed a monastery in the city.

He called the strike "proof" that Russia had no place within UNESCO, the UN's cultural agency.

Roth was scheduled to meet Odesa regional governor Maksym Marchenko and mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov. She was also set to visit some of the city's cultural institutions, such as the Odesa Film Studio and the Philharmonic Theater.

Claudia Roth holds up a stamp showing a Ukrainian soldier gesturing to Russia's Black Sea fleet
Claudia Roth holds up a stamp showing a Ukrainian soldier gesturing to Russia's Black Sea fleetImage: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/picture alliance

Which other German officials have visited Ukraine?

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock became the first Cabinet member to visit Ukraine on May 10. She visited Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the nearby town of Bucha, which Ukraine alleges was the site of Russian war crimes against civilians.

Toward the end of May, Development Minister Svenja Schulze also visited Kyiv and urged Russia to allow the delivery of tens of thousands of tons of grain stuck in Ukrainian ports.

Friedrich Merz, head of the conservative opposition bloc, visited Kyiv early in June. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats decried this as a PR stunt ahead of key state elections.

Unlike many European leaders, Scholz himself is yet to visit Ukraine.

Written using material from the dpa news agency.

Edited by: Rob Turner