The International Ark Project To Preserve Ukrainian Heritage Launches Critical First Mission

A groundbreaking urgent mission to preserve and protect Ukrainian culture and heritage from being systematically destroyed by Russian forces, has officially been unveiled in Prague today, ahead of entering the field next month.

To date, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has verified damage to more than 400 cultural sites, including 32 museums and 15 libraries and their contents, which are central to Ukrainian history, culture and identity.

While the fighting continues, innovative projects to preserve Ukrainian cultural artifacts at risk in the war are being accelerated. Given the scale of the crisis, the Ark project - aimed at protecting Ukrainian heritage - has confirmed a ‘go date’ for its first mission. The Ark I mobile safeguard vehicle will depart the Czech Republic for Ukraine in early January and travel to at-risk cultural sites across Ukraine. The Ark 1 has been specially designed for operating in hostile locations and provides specialist transportation, along with restoration and digitization equipment. This allows cultural workers in war affected areas to rescue historical books, as well as create digital copies and 3D scans of objects, such as frescoes, which cannot be removed from their current settings.

The mission will be led by a team of experts from the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library of Ukraine. The first vehicle will focus on digitizing and preserving as many text-based items as possible, including manuscripts, books and other important written artifacts, as well as scientific and academic literature.

For obvious security reasons, Ark 1’s itinerary will not be disclosed but sites heavily damaged or destroyed in the war so far include Odesa's art, maritime, archaeological and literary museums, Kharkiv Art Museum, the Ivankiv Museum and the Kyiv Art Gallery in the Kyiv region, and the Memorial House-Museum and Estate of Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi in the Chernihiv region, among others.

The Ark Project is a public-private initiative that aims to mitigate these losses. Led by the Czech Ministry of Culture in conjunction with the Ukrainian government and the Czech National Library, Ark is funded by private donors, including Karel Komárek, a leading businessman and philanthropist. This support comes via the Karel Komárek Family Foundation (KKFF), with Allwyn and MND, from Komárek’s KKCG Group, all contributing to the project. Additional funding is being sought for future missions.

Oleh Serbin, Director General, Yaroslav Mudryi National Library of Ukraine, Vice explains: “This mission will help preserve the pieces of our history that define us as a nation. Every book, every manuscript, every photo saved feels like a victory over the chaos surrounding us. This equipment represents more than just tools—it’s a chance to rebuild, to create something lasting for the next generation”

Karel Komárek, founder of KKCG and co-founder of the Karel Komárek Family Foundation, explains: “In times of war, protecting culture is not a luxury; it is essential for sustaining a people’s sense of self and hopes for recovery.”

With government and NGO budgets already stretched thin from providing essential humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine, more innovative approaches to protect and preserve cultural heritage are needed. Public-private partnerships like the Ark project should not only help stem the losses endured by Ukraine, they can also serve as a new global model for cultural preservation in the twenty-first century.”

Further information at: arkforukraine.org