**Russian Officials Behind Museum Lootings in Ukraine Exposed**
A new investigation by the Kyiv Independent has uncovered a group of Russian officials and a military officer who were involved in the looting of two museums in southern Ukraine. The museums, located in Kherson, had their collections stolen and taken to occupied Crimea.
The investigation found that Dmitry Lipov, a high-ranking Russian military officer, was responsible for securing the museum collections during their removal. He personally sealed the trucks carrying the stolen items. Lipov was also the head of the communications center of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and served as the city’s commandant during the occupation of Kherson.
The investigation identified three other officials who were involved in the looting: Sergey Patrushev, Elena Morozova, and Mikhail Smorodkin. Patrushev was responsible for moving paintings from the Kherson Art Museum to occupied Crimea, while Morozova and Smorodkin were the directors of two Crimean museums. They chose items from the Kherson Local History museum’s collection during the looting.
The investigation found that the illegal removal of collections from Kherson to occupied Crimea was supervised by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The Kyiv Independent’s findings are presented in a documentary called “Curated Theft”.
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