Half a thousand cultural monuments destroyed in Odesa and Kherson regions

Odesa and Kherson regions are among the leaders in terms of the number of destroyed cultural heritage sites, with over 460 damaged sites in total. Due to Russia's war against Ukraine, cultural monuments in the south of the country are being systematically destroyed.

This data was released by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy.

As of July 21, 2025, as a result of Russia's armed aggression in Ukraine, 1528 cultural heritage sites and 2359 cultural infrastructure sites were destroyed or damaged.

Among the affected monuments are 147 of national importance, 1267 of local importance, and 114 newly discovered. In total, the attacks affected sites in 18 regions, most of them in Kharkiv (336 cases), Kherson (289), Odesa (179), Donetsk (173), as well as in Kyiv region and the capital (111).

In addition, the shelling and hostilities damaged almost 2,400 cultural infrastructure institutions, 471 of which were completely destroyed. The largest losses were incurred in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv and Sumy regions.

Among the affected institutions:

• 1147 clubs;
• 830 libraries;
• 180 art educational institutions;
• 129 museums and galleries;
• 49 theaters, cinemas and philharmonic societies;
• 9 nature reserves;
• 10 parks and zoos;
• 4 circuses.

The damage was recorded in 318 territorial communities across the country. Communities in Donetsk (432), Luhansk (122), Sumy (37), Kharkiv (33), Kherson (22), and Zaporizhzhia (28) regions were affected.

Due to the temporary occupation of almost the entire Luhansk region and parts of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Kherson regions, an accurate accounting of cultural losses is currently impossible.

Last year, UNESCO condemned Russia's shelling of historic buildings and schools in the center of Odesa, a World Heritage Site that is under threat of destruction. The governments of Ukraine and Italy also signed a grant agreement in Rome to implement a program to restore and preserve the cultural heritage of the Odesa region.

Анна Бальчінос