Since the start of the major war, Russia has damaged nearly 2,000 historical sites in Ukraine
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has damaged or destroyed 1,990 cultural heritage sites and 2,625 cultural infrastructure facilities in Ukraine. This was reported by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications on August 6.
The ministry noted that in July alone, the number of damaged cultural infrastructure sites increased by 49, and the number of damaged cultural heritage sites by 41. In total, 90 more sites were added to the list of losses.
In particular, Russian attacks in July damaged a site in the historic center of Odesa, which is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Monuments in Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions also sustained new damage. In the Zaporizhzhia and Sumy regions, as well as in the capital, Russian troops repeatedly attacked sites that had already been damaged.
According to the ministry, the damaged sites include 192 sites of national significance, 1,605 of local significance, and 193 newly identified cultural heritage sites. Forty-seven cultural heritage sites were completely destroyed, and another 1,943 were damaged.
The highest number of damaged cultural heritage sites was recorded in the Kharkiv region—358, followed by the Kherson region—303, Kyiv—272, the Donetsk region—229, and the Odesa region—211.
In addition, cultural institutions in 354 local communities—representing nearly a quarter of all communities in Ukraine—have suffered damage. The greatest losses to cultural infrastructure were recorded in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, Kyiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The Ministry of Culture emphasized that due to the temporary occupation of almost the entire Luhansk region and significant parts of the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Kherson regions, the actual extent of the damage may be significantly greater.
This was reported by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications.
As a reminder, in Beryslav, the Holy Vvedenskaya Church—an architectural monument of national significance—was completely destroyed by fire on August 2 as a result of a Russian drone strike. The church was built of oak without a single metal nail back in 1726 and was considered a unique example of Zaporizhzhia church architecture.
Russian occupation forces completely destroyed the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located in the village of Yunakivka in the Sumy region. This unique religious structure was built as far back as 1806.
