Historic buildings and museums in Odesa damaged in missile attack

A Russian missile attack launched on the city of Odesa on the night of 24-25 September has damaged a number of cultural heritage sites located near the epicentre of the attack in the city centre. Museums that had already been damaged in Russian attacks in July this year were damaged once again.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture and Information Policy reported that as a result of the latest Russian attack, nine sites in the UNESCO protection zone have been damaged:

• The Vorontsov Palace (1824−1829)
• The Marini House (late 19th century)
• The Serato and Verani House (1824−1826)
• The Lerkhe House (1823−1826)
• The Sonntag House (1826−1827, 1850)
• The Palace (façade building) (1829−1830)
• The Lopukhin Palace, Rally, the Londonskyi Hotel (1827, 1851, 1898−1899)
• The Zolotarev House, Masa (1820s, 1872)

Most of these buildings are located on Primorskyi Boulevard, apart from the Vorontsov Palace, which is on a street bearing the same name. A blast wave has shattered the windows and damaged the facades of these buildings.

Staff from the museums located in close proximity to the epicentre of the attack explained to Ukrainska Pravda that the latest large-scale attack has added more damage on top of the damage done in July.

Kateryna Kolesnikova, acting head of the outreach department at the Odesa Literature Museum, said the staff of the museum, working with a municipal commission, have recorded new damage following the 25 September missile attack: even though the windows broken in July had been covered up, the powerful explosions broke them again, and the ceiling in one of the rooms is sagging.

"The damage is not that serious. Some windows were broken on the second floor, in the exhibition rooms and on the first floor in our offices. The ceiling plaster broke off in some of the rooms," she said.

The cracks caused by the July attack have grown bigger. "The building itself was badly shaken. And the cracks that appeared during previous attacks have expanded significantly. This is what worries us the most," Kolesnikova added.

She remarked that UNESCO representatives had only recently documented the July damage: "We can’t say when they will arrive to document this damage."

Staff at the Odesa Archaeology Museum, which was also damaged in July, explained that the latest attack added only minor damage: "A lock was broken on some old doors. Our windows are sealed, so we are sort of protected," said Svitlana Dzhalun, acting deputy head for general issues.

She added that the archaeology museum building is currently being inspected for damage by specialists from Kyiv. "Our building is in need of repair. And the cracks are growing even bigger due to all this shaking," Dzhalun reported.

The Odesa Art Museum reported that it had also suffered further damage in the 24-25 September nighttime attack. Some of the windows and sections of the ceiling were damaged, and new cracks have appeared on the walls.

Odesa’s historic centre was added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites at the end of January 2023. A plaque giving information about this was unveiled in Odesa on 4 April.

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