In one of the most devastating attacks on Kyiv since the start of the full-scale war, Russia’s missiles and drones targeted some of the city’s most treasured cultural landmarks. The National Art Museum, the Chornobyl Museum, the National Philharmonic, the Ukrainian National Academy of Music, the Kyiv Opera Theater, the Yaroslav Mudryi National Library, the Ukrainian House, and a number of other cultural institutions all reported varying levels of damage after the May 24 assault. The Foreign Ministry building — a historic architectural landmark built in 1939 — also suffered minor but notable damage for the first time since World War II. “The Russian strikes targeted a historic area, the very center of the ancient (Kyivan) Rus,” Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Photos released by the Culture Ministry show doors at the National Art Museum blown off their hinges by shockwaves, partially collapsed ceilings, and debris scattered across the floors. The museum houses the world’s most comprehensive collection of Ukrainian art, with more than 40,000 pieces in its collection spanning from the 12th century to the present day. While the National Art Museum’s collection wasn’t harmed, the Chornobyl Museum suffered a more unfortunate fate. Around forty percent of the museum’s collection has been destroyed, the museum reported on May 25. The full assessment of damage is still ongoing.  Rescuers and first responders work on the roof of the National Chornobyl Museum, heavily damaged by a Russian airstrike, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 24, 2026. (Serhii Okunev / AFP / Getty Images)  People carry surviving exhibits from the National Chornobyl Museum damaged by a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 24, 2026. (Viktor Kovalchuk / Global Images Ukraine / Getty Images) “These are unique historical testimonies and artifacts which, unfortunately, can no longer be restored,” the museum said. “Our museum, which for years preserved the memory of one of the largest man-made disasters in human history, has itself become a victim of a brutal war.” Many of the cultural institutions damaged in the attack sit at the heart of Kyiv, including the Ukrainian Institute on the city’s central Kreshchatik Street. Though only the dome’s windows and part of the facade were shattered, the strike served as a stark reminder: nowhere in Kyiv, or in Ukraine, is beyond the reach of the war. Since the outset of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s cultural heritage has remained under relentless threat from Russian attacks. According to the Culture Ministry, as of May 2026, at least 1,783 cultural heritage sites and 2,540 pieces of cultural infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed. Kyiv Oblast is one of the hardest-hit regions, alongside Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, and Mykolaiv.
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