17 October 2025
(The aftermath of the attack. PHOTO: Kherson Regional Museum of Local Lore/Facebook)
The occupiers shelled a museum in Kherson. Much of the building was damaged, and exhibits were threatened with destruction.
This was reported by the press service of the Kherson Regional Museum of Local Lore.
Over the past three weeks, the building has been subjected to systematic targeted shelling: a third of the building was destroyed, the roof was pierced, the walls were damaged, and a significant part of the exhibits were threatened.
The press service noted that the museum, which is a unique center of history and culture in southern Ukraine, has already suffered serious losses during the temporary occupation - thousands of exhibits, priceless witnesses to Ukrainian history, were stolen.
The museum's experts and administration emphasized that the destruction of the museum was not accidental. It is part of a deliberate policy of cultural terror. It is noted that even what the occupiers used to call "their cultural heritage" is now being ruthlessly destroyed. The destruction of the museum is systematic and methodical, aimed at destroying the memory of Ukraine.
Museum workers called on the international community to intervene to stop the destruction of historical sites in Kherson and preserve Ukrainian cultural heritage. They emphasized the need for urgent measures to restore the building and protect the exhibits to avoid the complete loss of historical materials and documents.
The expositions were broken, the collections were looted, and the walls were left with empty frames and empty spaces where unique and valuable exhibits once hung. This is the state of the main cultural and historical institutions of Kherson region - the Kherson Regional Museum of Local Lore and the Shovkunenko Art Museum.
Despite this, they did not give up, because they have people who continue to work for their restoration and development. The intent told how museum workers survived the outbreak of war and occupation, how they rescue and replenish the surviving collections, organize exhibitions outside the museums, conduct virtual tours, and much more.
Анна Бальчінос