The return of historical monuments removed from the territory of Ukraine after 2014. Problems of archaeological research in times of war

Abstract

The relevance of the research is conditioned upon the increase in the national consciousness of the Ukrainian nation, a new stage of the national revival of the Ukrainian state and consolidation of the Ukrainian people against the background of the full-scale invasion and occupation of Ukrainian territories. The purpose of this research is to explore the level of threat to the national historical and cultural heritage in Ukraine, including the temporarily occupied territories. The research methodology used in this work is a comprehensive combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis of archaeological and cultural monuments, and the following methods: ascent, synthesis, analysis, comparison, and the axiomatic method. As a result of the study, the main regions of historical and cultural monuments in the temporarily occupied territories and in the areas where hostilities are conducted were explored. The research examines the competent opinion of leading Ukrainian historians and archaeologists on the main problems of archaeological research and the restitution of the treasures of Ukrainian culture temporarily seized by the occupier. The legal foundations of such restitution are established in the context of the main provisions of national and international humanitarian law. These circumstances were the prerequisites for the cancellation of the decision of the District Court of Amsterdam in favour of the Ukrainian party. It is substantiated that the position of the authorities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands does not comply with the statute of legal identity and independence of the State and ignores the inviolability of property rights. Although, in turn, the country is based on the declaration of compliance with international law on the legal immunity of the state and its property, as established by the 2004 UN Convention. The conclusions presented based on them contain updated scientific knowledge on the areas of restoration of a fair legal status to the historical and cultural heritage of the Ukrainian nation and bring to science relevant scientific and practical recommendations for improving the current legislation of Ukraine in the field of museum and archaeological science