NFT sales will fund the restoration of physical monuments in Ukraine

The Ukrainian government will be using the proceeds of sales from an online nonfungible token, or NFT, museum to restore artwork in the real world.

According to a Friday announcement and information shared with Cointelegraph, Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Information Policy said the government’s Meta History Museum of War platform, aimed at preserving the timeline of major events in Russia’s war with Ukraine, raised 803.28 Ether (ETH) — roughly $1.3 million at the time — through NFT sales. The ministry said proceeds from the sales will go towards “the restoration of Ukrainian cultural institutions,” many of which have been damaged or destroyed by missile attacks from Russia.

“During the six months of the war in Ukraine, the Russians destroyed hundreds of our museums, theaters and cultural institutions,” said Oleksandr Tkachenko, Ukraine’s Minister of Culture and Information Policy. “Ukrainian culture and national heritage have been damaged by almost 6 billion euros, and judging by the actions and intentions of the Russian Federation, this figure will only increase.”

Alexander Borniakov, Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine for Information Technology Development, added:

“NFT[s] will not stop Russian missiles, but blockchain technology will contribute to the economic recovery and development of Ukraine as an innovation-friendly country.”

We wish it was the last drop of NFT artworks, but Russia continues to destroy our homeland

Therefore we represent the 3rd drop of the artworks dedicated to events between March 15 – 31. It includes masterpieces created by Maria Oz, Anton Abo, Oleksii Dyvysenko and the others. pic.twitter.com/T43keVzVgL

— Meta History: Museum of War (@Meta_History_UA) July 22, 2022

The Ukrainian government launched the Meta History project in March, one month after the first missiles struck Ukrainian targets in the ongoing conflict. While the $1.3 million will go toward Aid For Ukraine — a platform launched by the government that accepts crypto donations “to support people in their fight for freedom” — the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy has said the funds will be used for restoration rather than supplies for the nation’s military.

UNESCO, the agency behind many of the world’s heritage sites based on their significance to history, nature, and art, reported that as of July 18, 164 cultural sites in Ukraine had been partially damaged or destroyed as a result of the war with…