A petition has been launched by a group of high-level museum directors, curators, collectors, activists, thinkers, and art historians to protect Ukraine's cultural heritage. The petition is addressed to the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the ministers of culture in EU member states. It calls for immediate sanctions and the suspension of the Russian state's participation in international cultural events. The petition has been signed by dozens of European Parliament members, prominent figures, and cultural leaders, including French senators Claude Malhuret and Nadia Sollogoub. According to the petition, on the night of May 24, 2026, the Russian Federation launched a massive aerial attack on Kyiv, using approximately 70 missiles and 600 drones. The attack targeted the city's historic center, which includes many museums, theaters, universities, libraries, churches, and architectural landmarks. Many of these sites are officially recognized as cultural heritage and marked with the Blue Shield, an emblem established by the 1954 Hague Convention to protect cultural property during armed conflict. The petition states that Russia is a signatory to the Hague Convention and bound by international humanitarian law, which requires distinguishing between military and civilian targets and taking precautions to avoid damaging cultural heritage. The scale of the attack and the concentration of strikes in one of Europe's most historically significant urban areas make it increasingly difficult to consider the damage as accidental. The National Chernobyl Museum, which had recently reopened after 18 months of restoration, was almost entirely destroyed in the attack. Ukraine's Minister of Culture called the attack a deliberate assault on history, memory, and truth. The petition outlines several demands, including the imposition of sanctions on Russia's Ministry of Culture, the suspension of Russia's participation in European and international cultural organizations, and a call for EU ministers of culture to refuse to attend any international cultural forum that includes Russian representatives without question. Since the start of the large-scale invasion, Russia has destroyed or damaged 1,707 cultural heritage sites and 2,503 cultural infrastructure. Over 2.1 million museum items remain in areas under Russian occupation. The Mariupol Drama Theater, bombed while housing civilians, has become a powerful symbol of the campaign. Nearly 35,000 items were stolen from six museums in territories liberated by Ukraine in 2022. The Kherson Regional Art Museum lost nearly 15,000 works of art, including paintings from various regions, icons, and decorative objects, which were illegally transferred to occupied Crimea. Russian law, as outlined in constitutional laws adopted in late 2022, retroactively classifies cultural property from these areas as state property of the Russian Federation. The Council of Europe has described these actions as part of a broader campaign to undermine Ukrainian identity. The destruction of monuments, looting of museums, and appropriation of cultural heritage are not just war consequences but deliberate efforts to erase historical memory and weaken a nation's cultural continuity. The petition notes that the buildings attacked on May 24 bore the Blue Shield emblem, which was ignored. The 1999 Additional Protocol to the Hague Convention strengthens protection for cultural property of global importance and recognizes that deliberately targeting such sites can lead to individual criminal responsibility. UNESCO has documented damage to 515 cultural sites since the invasion began in February 2022, including 153 religious sites, 268 historical buildings, 38 museums, and 33 monuments. These figures suggest a pattern too consistent to be considered collateral damage. The petition also highlights the failure of existing mechanisms, noting that UNESCO and the International Council of Museums have been unable to stop the destruction of cultural heritage or suspend Russian representatives from international cultural institutions. The Russian Federation returned to the 2026 Venice Biennale after its artists had withdrawn in 2022, citing the deaths of civilians under missile fire. Despite warnings from the European Commission and calls from 22 EU member states to suspend funding, the decision to allow Russia's participation stood. In response, the Biennale's jury resigned, and over 70 artists and representatives from 22 national pavilions withdrew from the awards process. The petition concludes that the time for expressions of concern and symbolic gestures has passed. Ukraine's cultural heritage is part of Europe's shared heritage. Every burned archive, every ravaged theater, and every bombed museum represents an affront to humanity's collective memory. Institutions that continue to normalize these crimes or confer legitimacy to a state engaged in the systematic erasure of another nation's cultural heritage become complicit in this destruction.