Nazis destroy 40 cultural monuments in Mykolaiv

Russian troops have damaged about 40 cultural monuments in Mykolaiv, including historic buildings and the Arkas Gymnasium. The city is restoring them with the support of donors and international partners, allocating almost 154 million hryvnias for culture in 2025.

This was announced by Yuriy Lyubarov, head of the Department of Culture and Cultural Heritage Protection.

According to him, about 40 city monuments were damaged during the war, including the Arkas Gymnasium, which suffered a direct missile hit in November 2022. The building is currently being restored with the support of foreign donors and partners, and the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection ensures that the restoration is consistent with the historical appearance of the 19th century.

The official noted that to protect the monuments, UNESCO's international Blue Shield signs are installed near them, signaling an enhanced security regime and informing about the historical value of the objects. One such sign was recently installed on the building of the Astronomical Observatory.

At the beginning of the year, protection plates were placed on six more historic buildings in Mykolaiv that are under state protection. These include the national monument "Officers' Assembly" (1820), the administrative building of the city council (1954), the historic yacht club (1904) and the house where P.K. Saksaganskii lived. Protective signs were also installed on the complex of buildings of the Königsberg Water Treatment Center (1901) and the early twentieth-century chess pavilion on Fleet Boulevard.

The network of cultural institutions in Mykolaiv includes 33 institutions with branches: five houses of culture, four palaces of culture, 10 art schools, two centralized library systems, as well as the Mykolaiv Zoo and the municipal theater of the pop song studio. More than 1,500 people work in the industry, although some of them have stayed abroad or retired.

According to Lyubarov, UAH 153.9 million was allocated for culture in the first eight months of 2025, which is almost 4% less than last year. The official explained that the war is forcing the government and the city to concentrate finances on the frontline, but the department is working to raise salaries for industry workers and discussing this issue with the ministries of culture, finance, and economy.

The shelling and hostilities damaged almost 2,400 cultural infrastructure facilities, 471 of which were completely destroyed. The institutions in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Sumy regions suffered the most.

Анна Бальчінос