1,582 Ukraine’s cultural infrastructure objects already damaged due to war

In Ukraine, 1,582 cultural infrastructure objects have been already damaged or completely destroyed as a result of the full-scale Russian invasion.

"The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine continues to record damage to cultural infrastructure in Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression. Thus, as of June 26, 2023, 1,582 cultural infrastructure objects, excluding monuments of cultural heritage, suffered damage. Of them, almost a third (585) were destroyed," the Ministry’s press service reports.

Over the past month, the total number of affected cultural infrastructure objects increased by 62, most of which are in Kherson region (25 objects or 40%).

Cultural infrastructure in Donetsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk regions suffered the greatest losses and damages.

In total, 755 club facilities, 598 libraries, 84 museums and galleries, 26 theaters and philharmonics, and 119 art education institutions were damaged and destroyed in 222 territorial communities across Ukraine, accounting for 15.1% of the country’s territorial communities.

The Ministry emphasizes that almost the entire territory of Luhansk region and significant parts of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk regions are still under temporary occupation, which makes it impossible to estimate the exact number of cultural infrastructure objects damaged during military operations and occupation.