CrimeBefore Retreating From Kherson, Russian Troops Emptied One of Ukraine’s Top Museums of Nearly 15,000 ObjectsThey also targeted other cultural venues in the region in recent weeks.The Kherson Art Museum confirmed the theft in a Facebook post, explaining that between October 31 and November 3, three or four dozen Russian troops arrived at the institution and “took out works of art and office equipment—everything they saw, everything their raking hands could reach.”Paintings and other works of art were “wrapped in some kind of rag,” rather than proper packing supplies, according to the museum, and loaded on trucks and buses.“In our opinion, [it is] looting under the slogans of ‘preserving cultural values.’”The Russians looted the Kherson art museum and brought valuable works of the XVII-XX centuries to Simferopol.@suspilne_news pic.twitter.com/v2igpbKzj0— Ukrainian Art History (@ukr_arthistory) November 7, 2022Prior to the incident, the museum’s collection included religious paintings from the 17th and 20th centuries, Ukrainian art from the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and contemporary art from the last 100 years.“Due to the introduction of martial law on the territory of the Kherson region, I have been instructed to take the exhibits of the Kherson Art Museum for temporary storage and ensure their safety until they are returned to their rightful owner,” Malgin said."