MCIP continues to record damage of cultural infrastructure in Ukraine as a result of russian aggression. 1,132 objects of cultural infrastructure were damaged, excluding sites of cultural heritage. Almost a third of them – 403 objects – were completely destroyed. Cultural infrastructure suffered the greatest losses and damages in Donetsk, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy and Kherson regions. This information is as of the beginning of December.
“russian occupiers continue to destroy everything Ukrainian. They fire at clubs, libraries, museums, theaters, philharmonic halls, art schools and colleges, as well as cultural heritage sites. Currently the number of cultural infrastructure objects that have suffered damage has increased almost 7 times compared to April 2022. At that time, 169 objects were damaged. Since the Kherson region was recently heroically liberated by our soldiers, new facts of russian vandalism were revealed to us. The total number of affected objects increased by another 75 units. These are colossal, unprecedented losses for our culture,” said Oleksandr Tkachenko, Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
Creative hubs were affected mostly by the hands of the occupiers. This is 47% of the total number of cultural infrastructure institutions that suffered losses.
In general, the following objects were affected:
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532 creative hubs. Among them: destroyed – 197, damaged – 335 units. The majority is in Donetsk region – 25%, Kharkiv region- 14% and Kyiv region – 11%.
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431 libraries. Among them: destroyed – 141, damaged – 290 units. The majority is in Donetsk – 29%, Kyiv – 18% and Mykolaiv – 13% regions.
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61 museums and galleries. Among them: 20 were destroyed, and 41 – damaged. The majority is in Donetsk – 38%, Kharkiv – 10% and Mykolaiv – 8% regions;
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17 theaters and philharmonic halls. Among them: destroyed – 8; damaged – 9 units in Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv regions and the city of Kyiv;
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91 institutions of art education. Among them: destroyed – 37, damaged – 54 units. The majority is in Donetsk region – 31%, Kharkiv region – 14% and Mykolaiv region – 10%.
Cultural infrastructure was damaged and destroyed on the territory of 185 territorial communities. This is 13% of the total number of territorial communities. In total, there are 1,469 territorial communities in Ukraine.
In particular, objects of cultural infrastructure were damaged in the territorial communities of the regions:
80% – Donetsk region;
42% – Mykolaiv region;
39% – Luhansk region;
36% – Kharkiv region;
35% – Sumy region;
27% – Kyiv region and the city of Kyiv;
25% – Zaporizhzhia region;
16% – Kherson region;
14% – Chernihiv region;
12% – Dnipropetrovsk region;
12% – Zhytomyr region;
3% – Odesa region;
3% – Cherkasy region;
2% – Zakarpattia region;
2% – Khmelnytskyi region.
Currently, almost the entire territory of Luhansk and significant parts of the territories of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions are still under temporary occupation. Because of this, it is impossible to count the exact number of objects of cultural infrastructure damaged during hostilities and occupation.
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy also verifies the destruction of cultural heritage sites by the russians. As of the beginning of November, the destruction and damage of 171 sites of cultural heritage, 146 objects of valuable historical buildings, 58 monuments and works of art have already been verified.
