On 24 February 2025, the researchers of the Transcarpathian Museum of Folk Architecture and Life presented a thematic photo exhibition - "The Destroyed Cultural Heritage of Ukraine" - dedicated to the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
For three years, Ukraine has been suffering from pain and loss. Three years of resistance, steadfastness, unity and struggle for the freedom of the Ukrainian people. Ukraine has survived despite brutal attacks and incessant trials. Today we remind the world once again of the price of freedom, the strength of our people and the ongoing struggle. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are the main guarantor of the state's existence. Ukraine and Ukrainians will not retreat. WE ARE UNITED TO WIN.
Museums are not standing aside from the national struggle. By all means, we show and prove that we are a nation with our own enormous cultural heritage. It is locally diverse, as it has absorbed regional features, but it is fundamentally Ukrainian.
This photo exhibition is part of the Postcards from Ukraine project, which records and demonstrates the damage caused to Ukrainian cultural heritage by Russian troops as a result of bombing and shelling. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, troops have been destroying our country's historical, architectural and archaeological monuments on a daily basis. The Russian military has cynically and mercilessly shelled museums, memorials, university buildings, cinemas, and fired missiles at churches, temples, cathedrals, TV towers, and monuments. Russia is not just destroying Ukrainian towns and villages, but is systematically destroying Ukraine's cultural heritage, which dates back thousands of years.
80 postcards from different regions of Ukraine, each of which tells the story of a specific cultural monument and the circumstances under which it was destroyed or damaged. 8 well-known Ukrainian and foreign cultural figures and public figures voiced the stories of the destroyed monuments, including British actor Hugh Bonneville, Lithuanian singer Monica Lu, Ukrainian footballer Andriy Yarmolenko, Ukrainian band DakhaBrakha, and others.
More than 40 exhibitions have been held around the world by Ukrainian embassies and partners to draw the international community's attention to crimes against Ukrainian cultural heritage. Exhibitions were held in Portugal, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Argentina, the United States, France, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries. Ukrainian institutions and opinion leaders, as well as 73 foreign diplomatic missions and the European Commission, joined the campaign, publishing postcards on their social media in 24 languages.
The museum's researchers have selected 12 objects to be displayed in the exhibition. These are three museums: The Kuindzhi Art Museum in Mariupol, the Ivankiv Museum of History and Local Lore, and the National Literary and Memorial Museum of H.S. Skovoroda. One of the first cultural institutions to be destroyed was the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theatre in Mariupol. Among the damaged libraries in the exhibition are the Korolenko Central City Public Library in Mariupol and the Chernihiv Regional Youth Library. The exhibition also includes the Central House of Culture in Irpin, the Dnipro House of Organ and Chamber Music, the former Tregubov estate in Mariupol, the Church of the Ascension in Lukianivka, and a bust of Taras Shevchenko in Borodyanka.
Hundreds of cultural monuments destroyed, valuable collections taken away. We have no right to forget, to forgive! So we will remind the whole civilised world about them every time!