Russia has damaged or destroyed nearly 2,000 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine, - Ministry of Culture
As a result of Russia’s full-scale aggression in Ukraine, 1,949 cultural heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed.
According to Censor.NET, this has been reported by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine.
Heritage sites in five regions were the worst affected
According to the ministry, 183 of the damaged sites are classified as monuments of national importance, 1,570 as monuments of local importance, and a further 196 have only recently been identified. Forty-six monuments have been completely destroyed.
Damage was reported in 18 regions of Ukraine. The regions that suffered the greatest losses were:
- Kharkiv region – 356 heritage sites;
- Kherson – 305;
- Kyiv and the Kyiv region – 295;
- Donetsk – 225;
- Odesa – 208.
More than 2,500 cultural venues have been damaged
In addition, 2,576 cultural infrastructure sites have been damaged as a result of the hostilities and shelling, of which 540 have been completely destroyed.
The damaged sites include:
- 1,275 clubs;
- 890 libraries;
- 191 arts education institutions;
- 141 museums and galleries;
- 53 theatres, cinemas and concert halls;
- 12 parks and zoos;
- 9 nature reserves;
- 4 circuses;
- a film studio in Kyiv.
Damage has been recorded in 347 local communities across Ukraine.
The Ministry of Culture noted that, due to the temporary occupation of almost the entire Luhansk region and significant parts of the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kherson regions, it is currently impossible to determine the exact extent of the damage to cultural heritage.
