Ukrainian heritage preservation

Three previously unknown copies of the 1581 Ostroh Bible have been discovered on Mount Athos in Greece, where they are being studied by historian and theologian Serhii Shumylo, director of the International Institute of the Athonite Legacy, he announced on his Facebook page on Aug. 13.

Kyiv customs officers intercepted a Trypillian vase dating to the 5th millennium B.C. in an international mail shipment bound for Switzerland and, after court proceedings, transferred the artifact to the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, the Kyiv Customs Service reported on Facebook on Feb. 4.

Russian strikes on Kyiv on Jan. 24 damaged several facilities at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, including the gallery leading to the entrance of the Far Caves, where the relics of Lavra saints are kept, Suspilne Culture reported on Jan. 26.

Ukraine has sent Poland a request to extradite Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, detained in Warsaw by the Internal Security Agency in connection with illegal excavations in Russian-occupied Crimea, local outlet RMF24 reported on Dec. 23.

Olga Tsuprykova, co-founder and activist of the North Azovian Greek Community, represents one of Ukraine’s most overlooked cultural voices — the descendants of the autochthonous Crimean Christians who settled along the northern shores of the Sea of Azov nearly 250 years ago. In this conversation, she speaks about the struggle to preserve her community’s endangered Urum and Roumean languages, the devastating impact of Russia’s occupation of Mariupol, and the broader fight for recognition as an indigenous people of Ukraine. Her story is one of survival, revival, and the determination to keep a unique identity alive amid war.