Ukraine has been elected to the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the 2025-2029 term, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday.
Ukraine’s re-election comes amid ongoing Russian attacks on cultural and heritage sites across the country. UNESCO has documented extensive damage to Ukrainian monuments, museums, and religious sites since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.
“Today, Ukraine was elected to the UNESCO Executive Board for 2025-2029 with the highest number of votes. Together with Romania and Moldova, we outpaced Russia - for the second time in a row, Moscow lost the vote and will not join the Board,” Zelenskyy said.
He thanked member states for supporting Ukraine’s candidacy, saying the country would use the position “to restore life, protect our culture, heritage, and people,” and ensure that “all forms of Russian aggression - whether war or hybrid threats - receive an adequate response.”
Russia also failed to secure a seat in the previous election in 2023, when it lost its bid to remain on the Board for the first time since joining UNESCO in 1954 - a setback widely seen as reflecting its diplomatic isolation following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - is a UN agency that promotes international cooperation in education, culture, science, and communication. It is best known for its World Heritage program and efforts to protect cultural heritage and freedom of expression worldwide.
The UNESCO Executive Board is one of the agency’s key governing bodies, overseeing its work in education, culture, and science policy.
UNESCO has documented extensive damage to Ukrainian cultural heritage since 2022, including hundreds of monuments, museums, and religious sites hit by Russian attacks.
