In Odesa, a rocket attack damaged historical buildings and destroyed museums

Russia’s missile attack on Odesa on the night of September 25 damaged a number of cultural heritage sites located near the epicenter of the attack in the city center. And the museums, which were already damaged as a result of the Russian attacks in July this year, added new destruction.

Most of these buildings are located on Primorsky Boulevard, only the Vorontsov Palace is located in the alley of the same name. In these historical buildings, the blast wave broke the windows and damaged the facades.

At the museums closest to the epicenter of the Russian attack, the latest massive shelling added to the damage they recorded after shelling in July. Acting Head of the Mass Department of the Odesa Literary Museum, Kateryna Kolesnikova, said that after the rocket attack on September 25, the employees of the institution, together with the municipal commission, recorded new damage: although the broken windows in the museum were closed in July, powerful explosions shattered the windows, and in one of the halls ceiling.

“The damage is not so significant. On the second floor, in the exhibition halls, several windows were broken, on the first floor, in our offices. In several halls, the plaster fell,” she said. Also, due to the blast wave, the cracks that the museum building received after the July shelling increased. “The shaking of the building itself was very significant. And the cracks that opened during the first attacks have widened significantly. This worries us the most,” Kolesnikova added. She noted that UNESCO representatives only recently documented the July damages: “When they will come to these damages – we don’t even know.”

The Odesa Archaeological Museum, which was also damaged in July, said that the latest shelling added minor damage. “The lock turned out on the old door. Our windows are sewn up, so we are a little bit protected,” the acting director shared. deputy director for general issues Svitlana Jalun.

She added that experts from Kyiv are currently examining the building of the archaeological museum for damage. “Our building has been in need of repair for a long time. And all these earthquakes are causing the cracks to grow,” Jalun said.

The Odesa Art Museum reported that after the attack on the night of September 25, they also suffered new injuries. It also knocked out part of the windows, fragments of the ceiling and added cracks in the walls.

The historical center of Odessa was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List at the end of January 2023. On April 4, an information board was opened in Odesa about the inclusion of the city center in the UNESCO World Heritage List.