On May 16, as part of his working visit to Estonia, the Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Mykola Tochytskyi, met with the Minister of Culture of Estonia, Heidy Purga.

Mykola Tochytskyi expressed deep gratitude for the historic decision by the Estonian side to transfer 274 cultural artifacts to Ukraine. This step is not only an act of returning cultural property, but also a significant gesture of restoring historical justice, reaffirming Ukraine’s legitimate right to its own cultural heritage, and contributing to countering Russia’s attempts to appropriate Ukrainian cultural assets.

The Minister emphasized that approximately 1.7 million Ukrainian cultural artifacts currently remain under the control of the Russian Federation, and Ukraine is consistently working toward their return. One of the key tools in this process is the large-scale digitalization of cultural heritage. In this regard, Estonia could become an important partner, as more than 50% of its cultural content has already been digitized and made publicly accessible. These digital resources are actively used by students, researchers, and professionals from around the world.

Heidy Purga confirmed Estonia’s readiness to provide expert assistance to Ukraine in the digitalization and protection of its cultural heritage, and emphasized that supporting Ukraine remains one of Estonia’s key priorities.

Mykola Tochytskyi expressed his gratitude to the Estonian side for its consistent support since the first days of the full-scale invasion, particularly for its clear stance on terminating cultural cooperation with Russia, blocking hostile media, and actively participating in international initiatives in support of Ukraine. He also thanked Estonia for the invitation to the Lennart Meri International Conference, which traditionally takes place in Tallinn.

Special attention was devoted to preparations for the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) 2025, which will take place in Rome. Mykola Tochytskyi informed that, as part of this process, work has begun — with the involvement of international partners, civil society, the expert community, and political leaders — on the concept and organizational model of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund (UCHF). On June 20, a stakeholder expert workshop will be held in Florence, providing a platform to discuss the UCHF proposal and define the next steps toward its establishment.

In view of the high professional competence of Estonian experts and Estonia’s significant experience in the digitalization and preservation of cultural heritage, the Ukrainian side warmly invites representatives of Estonian institutions to join this process and take part in the upcoming workshop in Florence.

The parties also discussed key areas of bilateral cooperation, including culture, strategic communications, and the strengthening of information security.

Particular attention was given to countering Russian disinformation, including the use of cultural events, artistic initiatives, and the distortion of historical facts as instruments of hybrid warfare. Ukraine continues to count on Estonia’s support in strengthening the resilience of the information space and in sharing best practices in the field of strategic communications.