Detecting Damage to Cultural Heritage during Armed Conflict Using the Case of Ukraine

Armed conflict not only causes civilian casualties, but also damages or destroys civilian infrastructure, including cultural heritage sites. Despite the common occurrence of damage to heritage sites during conflict, monitoring is usually done on a case-by-case basis once conflict ends, which leads to delayed and incomplete coverage. The lack of systematic, large-scale, and near real-time monitoring limits research and response efforts intended to help communities recover from conflict. To address this gap, we advance a methodology to systematically identify potential damage to heritage sites during active armed conflict. We use NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) data and information on the location of heritage sites obtained from OpenStreetMap to determine which heritage sites likely suffered damage and when. We describe our methodology and showcase its accuracy in detecting damage to cultural heritage sites. We compare FIRMS predictions to "ground truth" estimates generated from AI-processed moderate resolution satellite imagery of building damage in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. We conclude with a discussion of the uses of this methodology to monitor damage to civilian spaces during armed conflict.