Some Issues of Preserving World Cultural Heritage Sites During Wartime: A Case Study of the Historic Center of Odesa

The article discusses issues related to the preservation of the world cultural heritage of humanity, in particular, the part of it that is located within Ukraine. The historical center of the city of Odesa was included in the UNESCO list in 2023. Since then, the architectural ensembles of the city's central part, despite their unique protected status, have repeatedly faced threats of damage, destruction, and complete obliteration as a result of the armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine. Currently, the primary task for Ukraine and the international community is to find ways and solutions that would allow for the preservation of this part of the global heritage, and to prevent or mitigate the extent of damages and cultural losses. To this end, the study analyzes specific conditions for the procedure of preparing and including the historical center of Odesa in the list of world cultural heritage sites, examines the general criteria for recognizing an object as exceedingly valuable for all humanity, and specifically, the criteria based on which Odessa’s center was included in the UNESCO list. The unique features of the city's historical part are studied, and the components of a concept of the universal value of Odessa’s historical center are formulated. Furthermore, the main financial prerequisites for the city’s recovery from damages and destruction caused by military actions are analyzed, including the study of some international conventions aimed at safeguarding the world from the loss of invaluable assets belonging to every resident of our planet, as well as initiatives by individual governments and countries directed at providing financial support for measures related to the restoration of Odessa’s architectural, historical, and cultural heritage.