Russia has destroyed 228 libraries in Ukraine, damaged 678 more

Russian attacks have destroyed 228 libraries in Ukraine and damaged another 678 since the start of the full-scale invasion. As of the end of July 2026, a total of 906 libraries had been affected, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture. 

Libraries represent the second-largest category of damaged and destroyed cultural infrastructure facilities after cultural and community centers.

Overall, Russian aggression has affected 2,625 cultural infrastructure facilities across Ukraine. The number increased by 49 during July. Damage has been documented in 354 territorial communities, or 24% of all communities in Ukraine. The largest number of newly recorded cases during the month was reported in the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Chernihiv regions. 

Cultural and community centers remain the largest category of affected facilities, with 1,300 recorded cases. Russian attacks completely destroyed 283 of them and damaged another 1,017.

Other affected cultural infrastructure facilities include 196 arts education institutions, of which 25 were destroyed and 171 damaged; 141 museums and galleries, including 20 destroyed and 121 damaged; and 56 theaters, cinemas, and philharmonic halls, including four destroyed and 52 damaged. Thirteen parks and zoos, nine nature reserves, three circuses, and a film studio in Kyiv have also been affected. 

The greatest losses to cultural infrastructure have been recorded in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Sumy, Kyiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. Russian forces have also repeatedly struck cultural sites that had already been damaged in the Kharkiv, Kherson, Odesa, Sumy, and Donetsk regions.

In addition, Russian attacks have damaged or destroyed 1,990 cultural heritage sites as of the end of July. The figure increased by 41 during the month. Of the total, 47 sites were completely destroyed and 1,943 damaged.

“Russia is waging a systematic war against Ukrainian culture, seeking to destroy our identity. Repeated strikes on sites that have already been damaged are particularly illustrative of the nature of Russian aggression against Ukrainian culture. We are documenting the losses and strengthening both emergency response efforts and work to secure resources for recovery,” said Tetiana Berezhna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for humanitarian policy and minister of culture. 

The ministry stressed that the figures do not reflect the full scale of the destruction. Almost the entire Luhansk region and significant parts of the Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Kherson regions remain under temporary Russian occupation, making it impossible to establish a final number of damaged and destroyed cultural institutions and heritage sites.

As reported earlier, in February, debris from a Russian drone also damaged the National Library of Ukraine for Children in Kyiv, breaking windows and damaging doors, walls, the foundation, interior finishes, and the library’s shelter. In March, a Russian drone damaged a city library housed in a historic building in the center of Novhorod-Siverskyi in the Chernihiv region. 

Main image: Oleksandr Seliverstov, Tetiana Kostiukova / Suspilne