In Odesa, blast wave of Russian attack damages box containing monument to Catherine II

This was reported by Odesa historian and volunteer Oleksandr Babich on his Facebook page, Ukrinform reported.

"When we were cleaning up the damage caused by the Russian missile in the Art Museum, I looked at the box covering Catya. It was deformed by the blast wave and almost blew her head off. That's the way things are. Such a symbol," the message reads.

Babich added that together with the organization 'Society and Historical Heritage' he recorded the damage the museum suffered due to the Russian attack. Specialists collected all the valuable elements of stucco and carpentry and moved all the paintings of the Art Museum's temporary exhibitions to a safe place.

As reported, the monument to Catherine Ⅱ in Odesa was dismantled on December 28, 2022. The sculpture was moved to the Odesa Art Museum for storage.

In the evening on November 5, Russian troops launched a missile and drone strike on Odesa. 33 residential buildings and six architectural monuments were damaged, including the building of the Odesa Art Museum.