On the 12th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting humanitarian crisis, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) appealed for greater protection of the country's cultural heritage sites.

"We must safeguard the cultural heritage in Ukraine, as a testimony of the past but also as a catalyst for peace and cohesion for the future, which the international community has a duty to protect and preserve," Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO's director-general, said in a statement.

Since the start of the Russian invasion last week, UNESCO has been in constant contact with Ukrainian institutions to assess the situation and strengthen the protection of cultural heritage sites.

"The first challenge is to mark cultural heritage sites and monuments and recall their special status as protected areas under international law," Azoulay said.

With the help of satellite images, UNESCO, which is based in Paris, wants to observe what damage is being done to cultural heritage sites in Ukraine.

Ukraine is proud to have seven sites on the UNESCO list, six of which are cultural sites and one of which is a natural site. Among them are the ancient city of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora, Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the Ensemble of the Historic Center, Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans, Struve Geodetic Arc and Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region in Poland and Ukraine. The natural site on the UNESCO list is Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe. The country also has 17 sites on the UNESCO tentative list.

UNESCO also confirmed its intention to support cultural workers in Ukraine.

EU culture ministers on Monday assured Ukrainian journalists and artists of help. In a joint statement, they said they would support professionals so that they could continue to be active and maintain creative and free expression.