Russian drone damages Museum of Hetmanship in Kyiv – photos
A Russian drone damaged the Museum of Hetmanship building in Kyiv during an attack on the night of 23-24 October.
Source: Local historian and journalist Roman Malenkov
Quote: "The Russians wanted to destroy one of the symbols of Ukrainian statehood – the Museum of Hetmanship. The house where Hetman Ivan Mazepa, so despised by Muscovites, may have lived, has survived, although a Shakhed [drone] packed with shrapnel exploded very close by."
Details: A crater was left beside the building where the drone struck. Fragments damaged the walls and window frames, and shattered glass fell from several windows.
The historian added that the explosion also damaged another 18th-century landmark – the former home of Kyiv burgomaster Ivan Kyselivskyi, which until 2021 had housed the Podil archaeological expedition.
About the museum
The Museum of Hetmanship functions as a state-run cultural, educational and research historical institution. Its collection includes artefacts of material and spiritual culture linked to the traditions and history of the Cossack-Hetman era.
The museum was established on 11 March 1993.
The building – an old 18th-century townhouse in Podil, known locally as the Mazepa House – had long changed hands among patrons and merchant families. After 1917, the house was nationalised, divided internally and converted into communal flats. In the 1980s, residents were evicted, and the historic building stood neglected for nearly a decade.
The house was later restored with funding from the Kyiv City State Administration and the Mazepa Charitable Foundation established by the Ukrainian diaspora.
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