In Kyiv, artifacts from the war—ranging from the Maidan to the battles for Kherson—have been digitized

The National Military History Museum of Ukraine has unveiled a multimedia guide featuring a digital archive that covers events ranging from the Revolution of Dignity to the liberation of Kherson. The project allows visitors to interact with over 500 digitized exhibits.

The total duration of the material is nearly 300 minutes of footage. Experts took over 6,000 high-resolution photographs. They digitized everything from heavy military equipment, damaged armor, and drones to the personal belongings of Ukrainian defenders. 

Thanks to detailed 3D models, video clips, and QR codes, unique artifacts in the museum’s galleries have “come to life”—from a homemade hat worn by captured Azov soldiers to a T-shirt with the phone numbers of comrades written on it.

The bilingual audio guide fully covers the third-floor exhibition and encompasses 35 thematic display cases dedicated to Ukraine’s struggle for independence.

Preparing the guide became a separate research project for the scholars, which allowed them to significantly improve the attribution of the exhibits and refine the chronology. The work took more than five weeks.

Museum officials note that the collected materials could be used as a series of mini-lectures for schools. All digital materials will also be stored in the Unified State Register of the Museum Fund of Ukraine.

Digitization was carried out in accordance with the international standards FADGI, Metamorfoze, ISO 21127, and IIIF. For helmets, weapon components, and deformed equipment, a layered combination of focal points was used. This made it possible to render every section of the surface clearly. 

You can watch videos showing the digitization process of the National Military History Museum of Ukraine’s collection onYouTube. 

Юлія Калабайда