Unique Costume Collection Destroyed and 13 Heritage Sites Damaged in Overnight Russian Strike.

Historic Sites in Ukraine Suffer Damage

According to Novyny.live: In an attack carried out by Russia during the night of June 15, 13 historic landmarks across Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Dnipro were damaged, according to Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna. This assault inflicted severe harm not only on architectural structures but also on Ukraine’s broader cultural legacy.

List of Affected Landmarks

• Dovzhenko Film Studios
• The roof of the Dormition Cathedral at the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
• Mystetskyi Arsenal
• Palace Ukraine
• A building of the Karpenko-Kary University
• Kharkiv Art Museum

Beyond the structural damage, the attack obliterated over 100,000 costumes and 3 million costume accessories, representing Ukraine’s largest and oldest collection of its kind. Berezhna stated:

“The largest and oldest costume collection in Ukraine has been destroyed—over one hundred thousand costumes and more than three million costume accessories.” - Tetiana Berezhna

This marks the second assault on Dovzhenko Film Studios this month, highlighting a pattern of deliberate strikes against cultural assets. Emergency responders deployed 30 pieces of equipment to contain the fires at the scene. Pavlo Petrov reported:

“Rescuers managed to prevent the fire from spreading inside the church at the Lavra.” - Pavlo Petrov

However, shattered windows at the university building and several museums within the Lavra complex underscore the severity of the situation and the extensive destruction caused by this attack.

This incident underscores the precarious state of cultural heritage protection in Ukraine, which is suffering immense losses due to military operations. The destruction of historic sites not only impacts material culture but also erodes the collective memory of the Ukrainian people, making these strikes particularly painful. The need to safeguard cultural objects becomes even more urgent during wartime, as each lost element of heritage carries a piece of national identity.