The cultural heritage of Ukraine: stories of rescue

Employees of Ukrainian museums did the impossible - when the full-scale war began, they saved hundreds of thousands of valuable exhibits in an incredibly short time. Despite the risks to their lives, shelling nearby, these people lived at work — to preserve and save Ukrainian history, culture and memory from destruction by the enemy. The first shock was the Russian attack on the Odessa Art Museum on June 23, 2022.

About how Ukrainian heritage was saved – in our collection.

It was the evacuation of the most valuable exhibits of our museum: jewellery, Scythian gold
26.07.2024
Victoria Vodopyan
"It was the evacuation of the most valuable exhibits of our museum: jewellery, Scythian gold"
My most valued artifact is the uniform of my deceased fellow countryman
20.12.2023
Oleksii Medvedev
"My most valued artifact is the uniform of my deceased fellow countryman"
The museum has survived and our country will survive - we will not let them overcome us...
16.11.2023
Kateryna Kulay
"The museum has survived and our country will survive - we will not let them overcome us..."
The frame was completely blown out of the place where my collection was because of the explosions
04.11.2024
Lesya Denysenko
"The frame was completely blown out of the place where my collection was because of the explosions"
“I understood that it was the last call. If you don’t respond, you will end up in a basement, and that’s it…”
25.04.2023
Olesia Milovanova
“I understood that it was the last call. If you don’t respond, you will end up in a basement, and that’s it…”
“Russia does not deserve history. In case of occupation, I had my personal sabotage plan in mind…”
26.03.2023
Kateryna Hryshchenko
“Russia does not deserve history. In case of occupation, I had my personal sabotage plan in mind…”
“We disassembled the museum’s collection of displayed exhibits “like a Kalashnikov assault rifle” – in two days …”
23.03.2023
Valeriia Lavrenko
“We disassembled the museum’s collection of displayed exhibits “like a Kalashnikov assault rifle” – in two days …”
“They broke everything in the museum and tore old-time embroideries”
07.02.2023
Natalia Lukyanenko
“They broke everything in the museum and tore old-time embroideries”
“We must save everything”
31.01.2023
Volodymyr Radchenkо
“We must save everything”
“We removed the museum’s exhibition Trypillia Culture in the first hours, in the morning of 24 February…”
27.01.2023
Vladyslav Chabanyuk
“We removed the museum’s exhibition Trypillia Culture in the first hours, in the morning of 24 February…”
“The biggest loss is the local history museum”
16.12.2022
Diana Tryma
“The biggest loss is the local history museum”
I still see these paintings before my eyes, but they are gone
23.11.2022
Tatiana Buli
"I still see these paintings before my eyes, but they are gone"
“The museum should be working”
16.02.2023
Yuriy Vakulenko
“The museum should be working”
“If there is no past, I see no future”
03.03.2023
Olha Plakhotniuk
“If there is no past, I see no future”
“You cannot prepare for war”
03.03.2023
Dmytro Stus
“You cannot prepare for war”
“Only the war gave us the opportunity to realize how much we are needed”
03.03.2023
Oksana Chervonenko
“Only the war gave us the opportunity to realize how much we are needed”
“When the street fighting was continuing, our girls were packing and hiding the exhibits”
06.12.2022
Raisa Lipchanska
“When the street fighting was continuing, our girls were packing and hiding the exhibits”
“Ninety percent of our staff remained in the museum to save the exhibits”
01.09.2022
Serhii Laevsky
“Ninety percent of our staff remained in the museum to save the exhibits”
“To make a new cross with fragments of the old one, for people to keep memories”
10.01.2023
Yulia Kovalchuk
“To make a new cross with fragments of the old one, for people to keep memories”
Lesia Voroniuk: “Cultural values cannot be restored. These things are lost forever”
09.12.2022
Lesya Voroniuk
Lesia Voroniuk: “Cultural values cannot be restored. These things are lost forever”
“I wanted to fall to my knees in front of the museum and scream out of powerlessness...”
01.03.2023
Lyudmyla Mishchenko
“I wanted to fall to my knees in front of the museum and scream out of powerlessness...”
“We were afraid they would destroy our flag”
23.01.2023
Natalia Aleksandrova
“We were afraid they would destroy our flag”
“Our museum curator and her child were here when a bomb exploded”
08.05.2023
Olena Isachenko
“Our museum curator and her child were here when a bomb exploded”
“A thick coat of broken glass was covering every surface. Documents and equipment were no exception”
08.05.2023
Svitlana Kurach
“A thick coat of broken glass was covering every surface. Documents and equipment were no exception”
“The explosion destroyed thirty windows. Several other windows were shattered as a result of vibration”
08.05.2023
Yuriy Tkach
“The explosion destroyed thirty windows. Several other windows were shattered as a result of vibration”
“I put the exhibits in pans and buried them. I then left for the evacuation with those pans…”
29.03.2023
Oleh Yarovyi
“I put the exhibits in pans and buried them. I then left for the evacuation with those pans…”
“It was a miracle that the only Museum of Theater Puppets in Ukraine was not dam-aged during the shelling of Kharkiv city center”
10.02.2023
Olga Dorofeeva
“It was a miracle that the only Museum of Theater Puppets in Ukraine was not dam-aged during the shelling of Kharkiv city center”
«The Hetman’s Capital is a deep glass of Ukrainian dignity, which we all need now…»
23.03.2023
Nataliia Rebrova
«The Hetman’s Capital is a deep glass of Ukrainian dignity, which we all need now…»
“Five days in danger: the evacuation of the museum collection from Khortytsia in the first days of the invasion is a feat…”
10.02.2023
Svitlana Okhrimenko
“Five days in danger: the evacuation of the museum collection from Khortytsia in the first days of the invasion is a feat…”
“Our mission today is to collect artefacts of the Russian-Ukrainian war”
29.03.2023
Kateryna Vysotska
“Our mission today is to collect artefacts of the Russian-Ukrainian war”
“We saved the paintings by Maria Prymachenko, but everything else burned down”
05.12.2022
Halyna Korinna
“We saved the paintings by Maria Prymachenko, but everything else burned down”
We were saving the museum amid the shelling; we cleared the debris with our bare hands and removed the water with buckets. We lost count after the 67th bucket
03.01.2023
Dina Lystopad
"We were saving the museum amid the shelling; we cleared the debris with our bare hands and removed the water with buckets. We lost count after the 67th bucket"
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