Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Vladimir Putin’s forces have killed more than 1,179 civilians and forced some four million refugees to flee the country. In addition to committing war crimes like bombing a maternity hospital and a Mariupol theater where 1,300 civilians, including children, had taken shelter, the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian cultural institutions and heritage sites.

As Luke Harding and Harriet Sherwood write for the Guardian, many Ukrainians view these attacks as a personal project of Putin, who has publicly rejected Ukraine’s independent culture, language and traditions.

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+ Info: Smithsonian Magazine

Image from: Smithsonian Magazine