Nearly 5,000 cultural heritage sites and institutions damaged by Russian aggression in Ukraine

Anastasiia Bolshakova - 3 September, 13:11

The Old Building of the Construction Institute, a cultural heritage site, was damaged during a Russian attack on Dnipro in April. Photo: Suspilne Dnipro/Yurii Tynnyi

Ukraine's Ministry of Culture has updated its statistics on cultural heritage sites and cultural institutions that have been damaged and destroyed by Russia. As of 2 September 2026, damage or destruction has been recorded at 2,138 cultural heritage sites and 2,640 cultural institutions.

Source: Ukraine's Ministry of Culture

Details: In August alone, the Russians damaged 148 cultural heritage sites and 15 cultural institutions.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, 192 monuments of national significance, 1,753 monuments of local significance and 193 newly identified cultural heritage sites have been affected. Forty-seven sites have been completely destroyed: one nationally significant monument, 44 locally significant monuments and two newly identified cultural heritage sites.

The largest number of affected cultural heritage sites has been recorded in Donetsk Oblast (369), followed by Kharkiv Oblast (358), Kherson Oblast (304), the city of Kyiv (272), Odesa Oblast (212) and Zaporizhzhia Oblast (115). Repeat strikes on already damaged cultural heritage sites have been recorded in Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Kherson oblasts.

With regard to cultural institutions, 569 have been completely destroyed.

The 2,640 cultural institutions affected are divided into the following categories:

cultural centres – 1,310: 285 destroyed and 1,025 damaged. The largest percentages are in Donetsk Oblast (19%), Kharkiv Oblast (15%) and Sumy Oblast (11.5%)
libraries – 913: 233 destroyed and 680 damaged. The largest percentages are in Donetsk Oblast (28%), Kharkiv Oblast (16%) and Kherson Oblast (13%)
arts education institutions – 195: 25 destroyed and 170 damaged. The largest percentages are in Donetsk Oblast (21%), Kharkiv Oblast (13%) and Kherson Oblast (9.7%)
museums and galleries – 139: 20 destroyed and 119 damaged. The largest percentages are in Donetsk Oblast (17%), Kharkiv Oblast (11.6%) and Kherson Oblast (9.4%)
theatres, cinemas and philharmonic halls – 56: four destroyed and 52 damaged. The largest percentages are in Kharkiv Oblast (12.5%), Kherson Oblast (10.7%) and Kyiv (12.5%)
nature reserves – nine
parks and zoos – 14: two destroyed and 12 damaged
circuses – three damaged: one each in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv oblasts
a film studio in Kyiv has also been damaged.

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