On 10 July 2026, Daryna Pidhorna, legal expert and analyst at the Raphael Lemkin Society, joined the inaugural Conference of Ukrainian Studies “Ukraine in the World” in Lviv to speak about the Society’s work on crimes against culture in Ukraine.
In her presentation, titled “Crimes Against Culture as Genocidal Practice: The Raphael Lemkin Society’s Work in Ukraine,” Daryna explained how the Society documents attacks on Ukrainian culture as evidence of a broader policy aimed at destroying Ukrainian national identity. The Society’s analysis traces a recurring cycle of cultural destruction, extraction, substitution, and ideological reprogramming across territories occupied by Russia since 2014.
“A nation is a fabric — language, faith, art, memory, institutions, and the people who carry them. You can kill its people, or you can tear out the fabric.”
She also presented the Society’s legal and analytical work, including a methodology tested on 42 documented cases and proposed amendments to Article 442 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code concerning genocide.
“Today, the law can protect the physical body of a group while permitting the destruction of its cultural essence.”
Pidhorna called for sustained cooperation between legal experts, universities, historians, sociologists, heritage professionals, and human rights organizations to strengthen the research and evidence required by investigators and courts.
Held in Lviv from 8 to 10 July 2026, the conference brought together Ukrainian and international scholars, experts, government representatives, and civil society organizations to discuss the global development of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar studies.
The event also marked the second anniversary of the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies and highlighted academic initiatives advancing research on Ukraine, Crimea, and Crimean Tatar heritage. The conference was organized by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Institute, and the Ukrainian Catholic University in cooperation with the Global Coalition of Ukrainian Studies.