Through the Russian War in Ukraine, Almost 2000 Cultural Objects have been Destroyed and Damaged

In Ukraine, 1987 cultural establishments have been damaged due to the Russian war, with 324 of them destroyed. The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy reported this on May 2, noting that the statistics are as of April 25, 2024.

The majority of the damaged or destroyed establishments are clubs and libraries. Additionally, institutions for arts education, museums, galleries, theatres, cinemas, philharmonics, parks, zoos, reserves, and circuses have suffered destruction and damage.

The breakdown includes:

• Club establishments – 958;
• Libraries – 708;
• Arts education institutions – 153;
• Museums and galleries – 114;
• Theatres, cinemas, and philharmonics – 36;
• Parks, zoos, reserves – 15;
• Circuses – 3.

However, the ministry emphasized that this statistic does not include cultural sites in temporarily occupied territories, so the actual number of destroyed cultural establishments could be significantly higher.

"As of the end of April 2024, almost the entire territory of Luhansk and significant parts of the territories of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Kherson regions are still in temporary occupation, making it impossible to calculate the exact number of cultural establishments affected by combat and occupation," the ministry stated.

Earlier, The Gaze reported that over 1000 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine were destroyed or damaged by the Russian war. This includes 57 archaeological sites, 294 architectural sites, 312 sites of architecture and urban planning, 66 historical sites, 1 site of monumental art and architecture, 7 sites of architecture and monumental art, 40 sites of architecture and history, 221 historical sites, 5 urban planning sites, 19 sites of urban planning and monumental-decorative art, 21 sites of monumental art, 2 sites of science and technology architecture, and 1 site of garden-park art.

The report notes that cultural heritage sites were damaged or destroyed in 17 regions, with the most damage occurring in Kharkiv (294), Kherson (136), Donetsk (125), and Odesa (123) regions.