Russian attack damages Kherson local history museum and World War II-era howitzer

Russian attacks have damaged a World War II-era howitzer and the building of the Kherson Regional Museum of Local History, an early 20th-century historical and architectural monument marked with the Blue Shield emblem for the protection of cultural property.

Source: Kherson Regional Museum of Local History

Details: Museum staff said fragments from a Russian attack had damaged the historic gun.

"On the square in front of our museum stands a special monument – a 122 mm M-30 howitzer that bears witness to World War II. Throughout all these years, it has remained a symbol of the liberation of Kherson from the Nazi German occupiers and a tribute to those who fought for peace," the museum said.

The museum building itself was also damaged in the Russian attack. The building is an early 20th-century historical and architectural monument. Since June, it has been protected by the internationally recognised Blue Shield emblem provided for under the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

The museum said the building had already sustained more than 35 strikes involving various types of weapons, documented by museum staff and law enforcement officers.

Background:

• In November 2025, the museum created an exhibition featuring fragments of shells used by Russian forces to attack the institution.
• In October 2025, it was reported that Russian forces had continued to destroy the Kherson Regional Museum of Local History after looting it, with a third of the building already destroyed by that point.

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