“For what purpose, no one knows,” he mentioned. “But thanks to these people and the operational work carried out, residents of the city of Melitopol — and not only Melitopol — will be able to observe again a large collection of Scythian gold.” He didn’t say when or the place the artifacts could be displayed.
Ms. Ibrahimova, who spoke by cellphone, sounded despondent as she spoke concerning the Russian invaders.
“Maybe culture is the enemy for them,” she mentioned. “They said that Ukraine has no state, no history. They just want to destroy our country. I hope they will not succeed.”
Scythian gold has monumental symbolic worth in Ukraine. Other collections of the artifacts had been saved in vaults within the capital, Kyiv, earlier than the conflict broke out. But Ms. Ibrahimova mentioned occasions unfolded too quick for her museum to spirit out their assortment.
For years now, Ukraine has been locked in an advanced dispute with Russia over collections of Scythian gold that a number of museums in Crimea had lent to a museum in Amsterdam. After Russia seized Crimea in 2014, Ukraine pleaded with the Amsterdam museum to not return the gold. Russia demanded the museum do exactly that. A court docket has dominated in Ukraine’s favor and the gold stays in Amsterdam.
But historians mentioned the looting of the artifacts in Melitopol is an much more egregious try to acceptable, and maybe destroy, Ukraine’s cultural heritage.
“The Russians are making a war without rules,” mentioned Oleksandr Symonenko, a fellow of Ukraine’s Archaeology Institute and a Scythian specialist. “This is not a war. It is destroying our life, our nature, our culture, our industry, everything. This is a crime.”
The caretaker who refused to assist the Russians was launched on Wednesday after the gold was stolen. But on Friday she was taken away from her home at gunpoint once more, Ms. Ibrahimova mentioned, shortly after the mayor, who can be in exile, introduced the theft.
She has not been heard from since.