In the humanitarian disaster of war, cultural destruction often takes the backseat to the preservation of human lives (and rightly so).

But in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, their false denial of Ukraine’s unique and sovereign national identity was central to the propaganda — making the rampant destruction of cultural heritage not just collateral damage, but a targeted assault on the national spirit of Ukraine.

Backup Ukraine was created from this insight to preserve not just the people, but the culture of Ukraine.

At the core of Russia’s war propaganda is the claim that Ukraine doesn’t have a unique and sovereign national identity. At the same time, there have been countless reports of cultural sites destroyed, ranging from 53 (Unesco) to 191 (Smithsonian).

And according to BLUE SHIELD (the “red cross for culture”), destroying a country’s cultural heritage is the fastest way to erase its national identity.

So preserving the country’s heritage isn’t just about helping museums.

It’s about a people — and their right to exist.

Destruction of Ukraine’s cultural heritage is nearly inevitable — no matter how many sandbags and protective covers we wrap them in. So how do we make sure that they aren’t lost forever?

By making a digital backup in the cloud — where no bombs can reach.

For the first time in history, UNESCO gave every citizen the power to create high-definition 3D models with just their phones.

Using smartphone camera and GPS data to let everyone in Ukraine capture any place or monument in a matter of MINUTES.

We saved the data as blueprints at museum-level standards in an online archive so if they’re ever destroyed, Ukraine's cultural treasures can be rebuilt down to the last detail.

In war, every day counts. And with 191 cultural sites destroyed in the first month of the war, we had no time to spare.

Knowing that local authorities were stretched to the limit, the only way we could scale fast enough was by allowing anyone to help Backup Ukraine.

So we deployed the solution nationwide, making the technology available freely to anyone in Ukraine, and used the momentum from press and social to spread the word to the population.

And to ensure safe and relevant captures, we partnered with the MINISTRY OF CULTURE in Kyiv to get official endorsements for volunteers (so that they could capture free from suspicion of espionage). We collaborated with the Ukrainian HERITAGE EMERGENCY RESCUE INITIATIVE to coordinate volunteers and onboard local museums. And teamed up with local NGOs, helping them secure UN funding to sponsor focused local captures on a city by city basis.

We partnered with 3D startup POLYCAM to customize and apply their photogrammetry algorithm for Backup Ukraine.

It uses machine learning to convert camera and location data to high-definition 3D digital blueprints in a secure cloud archive.

A free app was released to all iOS and Android users in Ukraine, allowing regular people with little training to capture 3D models in a quality that used to be reserved for film studios and professionals with expensive equipment.

We worked closely with archival experts from museums and Blue Shield to ensure that data was saved at museum-level standards of openness and security, committing to keeping the data in cold storage for 5 full years after the war and letting partners export to 10+ 3D formats. We even build new privacy measures to help museums mask the precise location of their collections, shielding them from looting invaders and targeted airstrikes.

In JUST 10 DAYS from launch, Backup Ukraine secured 170+ articles and news reports in Ukrainian and international press. The story spread rapidly across social media, with 2.500+ shares and 325.000+ video views.

135 civilians signed up to join a volunteer unit coordinated by local authorities, 6 NGOs pledged their support and 5 scanning firms offered equipment, funding and assistance on the ground.

With 2246 weekly downloads and a 44% growth in heritage scanned each week, Ukraine’s 26.800 monuments are on pace to be scanned by SEPTEMBER at the current growth rate.

And Unesco’s National Commissioner even went on public broadcast urging neighbouring countries to start scanning their heritage — before it’s too late

Destroying a country's cultural heritage is the fastest way to erase their national identity. This destructive tool has been a core part of Russian imperialism for hundreds of years, harking back to the De-Cossackization of Soviet that wiped an entire culture off the map. And since then, erasing local cultures and installing Russian populations in annexed territories has led to the loss of dozens of local cultures.

Case in point: Crimea. The reason the current population has such close ties to Russia is they where installed following a mass deportation of the original Tatar population, a Turkish-speaking Muslim culture.

We must prevent this from happening in Ukraine. But luckily, their population is one of the most digitized and technologically adept in all of Europe.