Cultural Heritage

BBC reports that a Russian drone strike damaged the building of Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences in central Kyiv, prompting emergency evacuations of nearby residents. Coming amid an escalation of long-range strikes between the two sides, the strike on a cultural and academic landmark has drawn fresh international concern about the boundaries of Russia’s military operations and the protection of cultural property in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Core Summary Four paintings of “extraordinary value” have been stolen from the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum in Messina, Sicily. Italy’s Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli confirmed that three panels of the Polyptych of San Gregorio and a double-sided panel of the Madonna with Child and Christ in Piete, all attributed to 15th-century master Antonello da Messina, were taken on Saturday night. Police are investigating how thieves entered without triggering alarms, with initial suspicion pointing to an organized black-market art theft operation. ...