The exquisite golden tiara, inlaid with precious stones by master craftsmen some 1,500 years ago, was one of the world's most valuable artifacts from the blood-letting rule of Attila the Hun.
Historians fear that the Hun diadem is gone from the museum in Ukraine. The crown and other treasures were taken by the Russians after they captured the Ukrainian city of Melitopol.
Ukrainian authorities say that the Russian invasion of the country is accompanied by the destruction and pillaging of historical sites and treasures.
In an interview with The Associated Press, the culture minister of Ukraine claimed that Russian soldiers helped themselves to artifacts. The minister said that the losses from the destruction of cultural sites were hundreds of millions of dollars.
He said that the attitude of Russians towards Ukrainian culture heritage was a war crime.
The focus of the Ukrainian government and its Western backers is on defeating Russia on the battlefield. The preservation of Ukrainian art, history and culture will be important if and when peace returns.
These are historical buildings. Olena Zelenska visited a Ukrainian museum in New York and said that everything was created by generations of Ukrainians. It's a war against our identity.
When Russian troops invaded the southern city, the Museum of Local History tried to hide hundreds of items. The museum's most precious objects were squirrelled away in a secret basement, according to a museum worker.
The Ukrainians don't know where the tiara and other artifacts were taken, according to a worker who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The crown was left from a burial chamber in 1948. The Scythians were a group of people who migrated from Central Asia to southern Russia and Ukraine and founded an empire.
These are things that have been around for a long time. These are pieces of artwork. The chief researcher at the Institute of Archaeology said that they are priceless. Culture is a disaster if it disappears.
The Culture Ministry did not reply to questions about the collection.
Russian forces stole museums as they laid waste to the Black Sea port of Mariupol, according to Ukrainian officials. In May, the city fell under Moscow's control after Ukrainian defenders surrendered.
Russian forces stole more than 2000 items from the city's museums, according to the exiled city council. Ancient religious icons, a unique handwritten Torah scroll, a 200 year old bible, and more than 200 medals were among the most precious items.
The paintings by Arkhip Kuindzhi, who was born in Mariupol, and Ivan Aivazovsky, who was born in the peninsula, were also taken. They said that Russian troops stole their bounty and took it to the Russians in eastern Ukraine.
Damage and destruction to Ukraine's cultural patrimony has been done by the invaders. The U.N.'s cultural agency keeps a list of sites that have been hit. The agency says it has verified damage to 199 sites in 12 regions.
There are 84 churches and other religious sites, 37 buildings of historic importance, 37 buildings for cultural activities, 18 monuments, 13 museums and 10 libraries.
The Ukrainian government says their count of destroyed and damaged religious buildings is up to 270.
Ukrainian museum workers did everything they could to keep the treasures out of Russians' hands. Thousands of items have been moved away from the front lines.
During the first weeks of the Russian invasion, the director of the Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukranian lived in a building that was guarded with artifacts.
The director said that they were afraid of the Russians because they destroyed everything that could be identified as Ukrainian.
The plaque on the museum entrance was taken down in order to confuse the Russians. She removed exhibits and packed them into boxes to be evacuated.
She hopes one day they will return to their rightful place. The museum only shows copies.
She said that they survived hundreds of years. We didn't want to think they could be lost.
That's right.
JohnLeicester is a journalist in Paris. There was a contribution from the person from the city of Kyiv.
That's right.
The war in Ukraine is covered by the Associated Press.
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