Over 100,000 Costumes Lost: Dovzhenko Film Studio Archive Completely Destroyed.

Strike on the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Studio

According to Espreso.tv: A massive attack by Russian forces has severely damaged the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Studio, destroying both its costume archive and studio buildings. Acting director Yevhen Dyachenko reported that the costume warehouse was completely leveled, eliminating over 100,000 individual costumes created for films produced at the studio since 1954.

A Blow to Ukraine's Cultural Heritage

During the night of June 15, Russia launched a large-scale assault on Ukraine, killing five people in the capital. In Kharkiv, a subsequent strike claimed the lives of five emergency responders. Additional casualties were reported in the Kyiv, Dnipro, and Kharkiv regions.

'This was the costume department's archive, built up over decades, and it has been utterly wiped out—nothing remains of the collection or the costumes themselves,' — Yevhen Dyachenko

Dyachenko stressed that, despite any desire to do so, the lost costumes cannot be recreated, as they were unique items: 'We appreciate the sentiment, but restoration is impossible because these costumes existed only as individual pieces.'

The attack has inflicted not only immense material damage on the studio but also a significant blow to Ukraine's cultural heritage. The costumes, assembled over many decades, were vital artifacts of the country's cinematic history. Their destruction represents a severe loss for Ukrainian filmmaking, which continues to strive for identity and creative output amid the hardships of war. Public reaction to these events remains crucial, as they highlight the war's impact on both a physical and cultural level.