National Writers’ Union of Ukraine premises damaged by Russian strike on Kyiv

The National Writers’ Union of Ukraine premises on Bankova Street in Kyiv were damaged by a Russian missile strike on Jan. 1, as reported by poet and member Vasyl Zyma on his Facebook page.

“Our enemy hit the Union. This is the whole world. Childhood, youth, adulthood,” he wrote. 

“Writers Yurii Mushketyk, Oles Honchar, Pavlo Zahrebelnyi, Anatoliy Dimarov, author, politician and public figure Volodymyr Yavorivskyi, poet, translator and political figure Ivan Drach, politician Markian Lubkivskyi used to work there. As a child, I was looking forward to celebrations at the Union on New Year’s Eve. They would show cartoons in the assembly hall and give candy. It was magical. I remember how Victor Medvedchuk wanted to seize the building. We defended it. I remember the gatherings at the Aeneas cafe. All the performances, presentations … I know that the Creative Unions have outlived themselves, and the Union’s clinic on Reitarska Street was taken away, the Houses of Creativity in Yalta and Koktebel, the Crimea, are under occupation. Places in Irpin and Odesa are hardly functioning. The house on Bankova Street lived on. It was a kind of haunted house, house of the past, a portal to a magical dimension, a return to something that does not exist.”

The premises of the Union are located in the Lieberman mansion, built in 1879. Russian troops attacked Kyiv with drones around 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2025. The wreckage of the drones fell in two districts, injuring seven people. As a result of the shelling, two people died — a married couple of scientists, Ihor Zyma and Olesia Sokur.

A fire broke out on the roof of one of the National Bank’s of Ukraine buildings in the Pechersk district as a result of the fall of a UAVs debris.

The Secretariat of the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine published details of a bank account for contributions to the reconstruction of the damaged Lieberman mansion, as reported by the Ukrainian Literary Newspaper. A foreign currency account for contributions from abroad will be opened soon.

The building of the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine is one of the landmarks of Lypky district and the government quarter. It was built at the end of the nineteenth century. In addition to the National Writers’ Union of Ukraine building, Kyiv architect Volodymyr Nikolaiev was also responsible for the construction of St. Volodymyr’s Cathedral, the Opera House, and 27 public buildings in Kyiv.

One of the owners of the building was a millionaire and sugar manufacturer Simcha Lieberman who completed the building, granting it not only its current look, but also the name “the Lieberman’s mansion.”

The Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine plans to appeal to UNESCO and create a mechanism for preserving and protecting architecture of the Kyiv downtown.

“Ukrainian identity is a target to Russians. They are trying to destroy it in every possible way, and our cultural heritage as well. However, their efforts are in vain. You can destroy a building, but you cannot destroy the Ukrainian word,” said a representative of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications.

UNESCO has already confirmed that from the outbreak of full-scale invasion, 274 cultural sites have been damaged by the Russian troops.

RELATED: The Kyiv Institute of Journalism was damaged by debris from a “Shahed” drone

Main image: Vasyl Zyma’s Facebook page

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn