Ukrainian Museums and Cultural Sites Damaged by Russian Attack

Ukrainian Museums and Cultural Sites Damaged by Russian Attack

A Russian military strike on Kyiv and the surrounding area killed four people and did significant damage to one of the country’s oldest museums, theNational Art Museum of Ukraine(NAMU), as well as theUkrainian National Chernobyl Museum, and other cultural heritage sites, in addition to several schools and many residentialbuildings,per reports. The drone and missile attack, one of the heaviest bombardments of Kyiv since Russia’s invasion in 2022, also wounded nearly one hundred people, according toReuters.

According to theKyiv Post, approximately 40 percent of the National Chernobyl Museum’s artifacts were damaged beyond recovery by the military attacks. Meanwhile, NAMU’s collections did not sustain damage, although the building’s facade reportedly sustained damage, per thePost. NAMU will be closed until further notice.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, cultural centers including the Hinaus gallery, the Zhytnii Market, the Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature, the Ukrainian House, and the Kyiv Small Opera were also damaged in this latest attack. Windows in the the Hinaus gallery and the Zhytnii Market building were reportedly shattered, and the premises of the Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature sustained damage to its library and book repositories.

“Tonight, May 24, as a result of the barbaric missile attack of Russian immigrants on Kyiv the premises of the Institute of Literature were seriously damaged,” the Taras Shevchenko Institute said in a statement on Facebook. “The already difficult financial situation of the country’s oldest literary studies institution has become even more complicated. For obvious reasons, the catalogues of the Manuscript Centre are temporarily unavailable to readers.”

“This is a war against our culture, memory and identity,” Kyrylo Budanov, a top aide to president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told CBC this week. “For centuries, Moscow has tried to destroy everything that makes us Ukrainian.” As of May 13, there were 527 cultural sites in Ukraine that have been verified by UNESCO as damaged since Russia’s invasion.