CBP returns stolen Ukrainian artifacts to Zelenskyy
- The artifacts were seized at the John F. Kennedy International Airport
- CBP officials held a repatriation ceremony when Zelenskyy was in the U.S.
- Enforcing agreements regarding stolen artifacts is part of CBP's duties
Ukraine’s Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, left, and Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, right, listen as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool via AP)
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(NewsNation) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. included a repatriation ceremony as U.S. Customs and Border Protection returned 10 stolen Ukrainian artifacts to the president.
The returned items included three 17th-18th century European iron axes with hammer backs, three European pickaxes from the same era, two Scythian akinakes iron swords that date to the fifth or sixth centuries B.C., a European socketed iron spearhead and a European iron axe dating back to the 17th-18th centuries.
The items were seized in September 2022 by CBP officers at the John F. Kennedy International Airport mail facility in New York. CBP’s antiquities unit identified them as Ukrainian cultural property.
“These artifacts, which embody the unique history of Ukraine and the centuries-old resolve of its people, will reside at home where they belong,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “It is my sincere hope that now, these enduring pieces of history also will forever tell the story of the bond between Ukraine and the United States of America.”
The repatriation ceremony took place as Zelenskyy was visiting the United Nations General Assembly as well as traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Joe Biden and members of Congress regarding aid to Ukraine.
The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for enforcing agreements regarding cultural property to reduce looting at heritage sites around the world. Since the start of fiscal year 2023, CBP officers at JFK recorded 17 seizures of cultural property with a value exceeding $745,000.
