5.1.22
Ukraine has accused Russian forces of looting priceless artifacts from a museum in the southern city of Melitopol as fighting and missile strikes continued in Ukraine’s south and east. Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov said during a national telethon that “the orcs have taken hold of our Scythian gold,” using a derogatory term by which many Ukrainians refer to the invading Russian soldiers. “We don’t know where they took it.” The New York Times reported that the director of the Melitopol Museum of Local History, Leila Ibrahimova, said museum workers had hidden the priceless treasure in boxes in a cellar. After Russian troops abducted and interrogated her for several hours in March, Ibrahimova left Melitopol for Kyiv-controlled territory. Melitopol has been occupied by Russian forces since early March. Last week, she was informed by the museum’s caretaker that the Russians had discovered the boxes with the help of the Russian-appointed de facto museum director. Russian troops and intelligence officers watched as a Russian in a white lab coat carefully removed the artifacts, which are more than 2,300 years old, and took them away. According to The New York Times, at least 198 gold items, rare old weapons, a number of silver coins, and medals were removed.
