Фота: сацсеткі Міністэрства культуры Украіны.
As a result of another massive Russian strike on Kyiv, the building of the National Art Museum of Ukraine (NAMU) sustained serious damage, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture reported. The historic site in the center of the capital was hit by a blast wave. Museum staff and official services are already assessing the scale of the destruction. The museum’s collection and personnel were not harmed.
The NAMU building is a nationally significant monument of architecture, history, and monumental art. It is one of the country’s oldest and most important institutions, preserving tens of thousands of works of Ukrainian art — from princely-era icon painting to the contemporary avant-garde.
The blast wave damaged the museum’s historic façade: windows were blown out, window frames damaged, and plaster partially collapsed from walls and inside several halls. In addition, the glass covering of the skylight roof, which provides natural overhead lighting for the exhibition halls on the second floor, was damaged.
The museum’s management reassured the public that the most valuable exhibits had been evacuated to secure storage facilities during the first days of the full-scale invasion. Since the halls were empty at the time of the strike, broken glass did not damage the artworks. Volunteers and restorers are currently working to eliminate the consequences of the attack.
The situation was commented on by Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture Tatsiana Berezhna:
“The National Art Museum of Ukraine is a place where the history of Ukrainian art is preserved. Russia is systematically attacking civilian infrastructure and cultural institutions. Every such strike is an attempt to intimidate and destroy our identity. We are documenting all damage and continue working on restoring our damaged cultural heritage,” she said.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture is already preparing an urgent appeal to UNESCO. Since deliberate or collateral strikes on cultural heritage sites fall under the definition of war crimes, international observers have been invited to the site to officially document the damage.
As previously reported, Kyiv endured a massive combined missile and drone attack overnight. According to city authorities, four people were killed in the region and more than 50 others were injured.
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