Russian shelling damaged the Hall of Fame of the World War II Museum near the Motherland Monument in Kyiv

Russian shelling damaged the Hall of Fame at the World War II Museum in Kyiv. Photo: Tetiana Berezhna

During the massive shelling of Kyiv on 3 February, Russian troops damaged the Hall of Fame of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II, located at the foot of the Motherland Monument.

This was reported by Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture of Ukraine Tetiana Berezhna.

According to her, the Hall of Fame is a monument of science and technology of local significance.

«It is both symbolic and cynical: the aggressor state is striking a blow to a place of remembrance of the struggle against aggression in the 20th century, repeating its crimes in the 21st century,» said Tetiana Berezhna.

Museum specialists, technical services and law enforcement officers are currently working at the site. They are inspecting the area, recording the damage and conducting an initial assessment of the losses. Once the inspection is complete, the scope of the restoration work will be known. The museum continues to operate.

Russian shelling damaged the Hall of Fame of the World War II Museum in Kyiv. Photo: Tetiana Berezhna

According to the minister, since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has damaged or destroyed more than 1,680 cultural heritage sites and thousands of cultural infrastructure facilities. At the same time, Ukraine, together with its international partners, is developing the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund to restore and protect such facilities.

From the first days of the war, Russia has been deliberately destroying Ukrainian cultural heritage. Architectural monuments, unique old houses and churches have been reduced to ruins after Russian missile strikes. As of July 2025, the Russians have destroyed more than 3,500 cultural heritage sites and infrastructure facilities in Ukraine. This is approximately the same as if the Russians had destroyed three such sites every day since the start of the full-scale war until today.