KYIV/PARIS (Reuters) – Ukraine won an age-old culinary dispute with Russia on Friday after the United Nations cultural agency placed a traditional beetroot soup on the list of protected Ukrainian cultural heritage. Paris-based UNESCO said in a statement that it had placed borshch, a rich crimson soup filled with vegetables, on a list of cultural heritage in need of “urgent preservation” because of the danger posed by the soup’s place as an element of Ukrainian culture. legacy of the invasion of Moscow. Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko tweeted: “Victory in the war for borshch is ours!” Moscow denounced the newly protected Ukrainian status of the dish, which is also popular in Russia, as an example of “modern Kievan nationalism”. “Our stock market does not need protection, but is subject to immediate and complete destruction in a bowl,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram. This view was met with hostility by the people of Kiev, including 53-year-old civil servant Tetiana. “They need to develop their own culture, not just try to claim that of others,” he said. A UNESCO representative in Paris said the new status means Ukraine can now apply for special funds to finance projects that promote and protect the dish. Diana Kharanovych-Yavorska, a 35-year-old scientist enjoying a bowl of borscht on a sunny afternoon in Kyiv, said the decision represented a victory over Moscow, especially important in the fifth month of a bloody full-scale war. “For Ukraine, this is a victory, given that Russia has always wanted to steal our history, our culture and our national dishes,” he told Reuters. “Ukrainian borsh… may be different for every housewife, but it is ours,” she said. Yevhenii Marshal, a chef at a central Kyiv restaurant, explained that there are several main types of borsch: the traditional red beet variety, green sorrel borsch, and even a fish-based variety. He is adamant that everyone is Ukrainian. “Of course borshch is a Ukrainian heritage. To prepare delicious borsch, the main thing you need is a real Ukrainian (to prepare it) and a taste,” Marshall said while going through a pile of carrots. (Additional reporting by Tassilo Hummel in Paris and Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey in Kyiv; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
