On the 198^th day of the war, on 9 September 2022, Ambassador of Ukraine in Denmark Mykhailo Vydoinyk met with Director of the National Museum of Denmark Rane Willerslev, Chairman of the Council of the “Blue Shield Danmark” Søren la Cour Jensen and Director of the National Gallery of Denmark Mikkel Bogh.

During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed a wide range of issues of possible cooperation, in particular, as to delivering of humanitarian assistance to museums and galleries in Ukraine that suffered from the shelling of the Russian occupation army. Ambassador Vydoinyk proposed to consider the possibility of creating a special program for the reconstruction (restoration) of damaged and destroyed museums. He noted that the financial support of museum workers is also important, especially those from the frontline and temporarily occupied territories who lost their jobs due to hostilities.

Special attention was paid to the issue how to prevent that Ukrainian artifacts stolen by Russian invaders do not enter Western markets, especially to private collections. The parties also discussed the creation of appropriate conditions in Ukraine for the storage of museum exhibits in the conditions of war, or their temporary transportation outside the state, if necessary.

In conclusion, the interlocutors touched upon the issue of organizing joint exhibitions in the National Museum of Denmark. They agreed that it is feasible to exchange museum experience at the level of employees of the relevant institutions of two countries.