UNESCO adds Crimea’s ancient Greek city of Tauric Chersonesus to World Heritage in Danger list

On 22 July 2024 the UNESCO World Heritage Committee met in Busan, South Korea for its 48th session and placed the ancient Greek city of Tauric Chersonesus in Crimea on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The decision cited “serious threats” including illegal excavations, large‑scale construction and the removal of cultural artefacts under Russian occupation that began in 2014. Ukrainian Culture Minister Tetiana Berezna welcomed the move, saying it “confirms officially the risks the monument faces because of the temporary Russian occupation of Crimea”. Russia’s permanent representative to UNESCO, Rinat Aliauntynof, rejected the listing, describing it as “another example of the politicisation of the Committee’s work” and attributing the main threat to “Ukrainian armed attacks”. The Committee also added sites such as the Western Wall in Jerusalem and several monuments in Lebanon to the danger list.