THIEVING Russian troops looted 14,000 work in one of many largest artwork heists of all time.
They broke into the Kherson Artwork Museum and loaded lorries with the priceless treasures earlier than they fled the town this month.
Museum director Alina Dotsenko, 72, mentioned: “Once I noticed the empty rooms I practically misplaced my thoughts. I’ve shed so many tears.
“We had 14,000 items, one of many largest collections of artwork in Ukraine.
“There have been work from England, Spain, Holland, throughout Europe. You may’t put a worth on what they’ve stolen. They’re making an attempt to steal our tradition.”
Alina, who labored on the museum since 1977, had hidden the artwork in underground vaults however traitors revealed the areas.
She added: “Armed males got here to the museum and demanded to be let in.
“Three have been from the police and three from the FSB intelligence service.”
It took 5 days, from October 31 to November 4, for troops to fill lorries with stolen artwork and ship it to Simferopol, in Crimea, managed by forces loyal to Vladimir Putin.
Conflict crimes investigators are working around the clock to catalogue the thefts.
Among the many lacking treasures is a seventeenth century portrait known as Girl with Canine, by the Anglo-Dutch grasp Sir Peter Lely, chief painter to the court docket of King Charles II.
He was hailed as, “by far probably the most trendy and influential painter of his time” by the Nationwide Portrait Gallery in London.
Troops additionally took statues of Russian generals from parks all through the town.
They stole the stays of Prince Grigory Potemkin from a crypt beneath St Catherine’s Cathedral.
However they left a bust of Lenin and a nude statue within the artwork museum’s cellar.
The UN’s cultural company mentioned at the very least 200 historic websites had been broken or destroyed since Russia invaded on February 24.
- Extra reporting: Oleksii Kulyk