Nearly 1,600 cultural heritage sites destroyed or damaged in Ukraine since war started

03.10.2025 00:35

Ukrinform

As of September 25, 2025, as many as 1,599 cultural heritage sites and 2,415 cultural infrastructure facilities in Ukraine have been destroyed or damaged as a result of Russia's full-scale aggression.

That is according to the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

Among the damaged cultural heritage sites, 149 are of national importance, 1,300 of local importance, and 150 are newly identified monuments.

Damage has been recorded in 18 regions and in Kyiv. The greatest losses were sustained in Kharkiv region (341 sites), Kherson region (293), Odesa region (182), Donetsk region (173), and in Kyiv city and Kyiv region (154).

In addition, 2,415 cultural infrastructure facilities have been damaged, 491 of them completely destroyed. The most severe destruction was recorded in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Sumy, and Mykolaiv regions.

These include 1,175 cultural centers and clubs, 848 libraries, 184 arts education institutions, 133 museums and galleries, 50 theaters, cinemas and philharmonics, nine nature reserves, 11 parks and zoos, four circuses, and a film studio in Kyiv.

Overall, destruction has been documented in 326 territorial communities across Ukraine. The hardest-hit communities are in Donetsk region (46), Sumy region (37), Kharkiv region (33), Chernihiv region (31), Zaporizhzhia region (28), Mykolaiv region (23), Dnipropetrovsk region (22), Kyiv region (21), and Luhansk region (12).

The ministry recalled that nearly all of Luhansk region and significant parts of Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Kherson regions remain under Russian occupation, making it impossible to accurately assess the full scale of damage to cultural institutions there.