News

War destroys heritage again in Ukraine

bonart beryslav - 09/08/26

The war in Ukraine continues to leave a mark that goes far beyond human and material losses. Historical and cultural heritage is also being irreversibly destroyed. The latest incident occurred in Beryslav, in the Kherson region, where a Russian drone strike destroyed the Church of the Holy Presentation, an 18th-century wooden building considered one of the last remaining examples of traditional Cossack architecture in the country.

Originally built in 1725, the church was part of a fortification near Zaporizhzhia. In 1784, it was moved to Beryslav, where it remained for nearly three centuries as a prime example of religious and military architecture associated with the Cossack tradition. Images taken after the attack show only the charred remains of the building.

Oleksandr Alchiev, head of the Beryslav Military Administration, described the temple as a unique architectural monument of national importance and noted that it had been part of the city's history for nearly three centuries. Its destruction, therefore, represents the loss of a tangible element of Ukrainian historical memory that can hardly be replaced or reconstructed in its original condition.

The case of Beryslav is part of a much broader context. According to data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, since the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion in 2022, nearly 2,000 cultural and heritage sites in the country have been damaged or destroyed. Churches, museums, monuments, libraries, and historical buildings have been affected by bombings and attacks.

The House of Culture, damaged by Russian bombing in the town of Davydiv Brid, in the Beryslav district, Kherson region (Ukraine), on November 22, 2025.

Among the damaged sites are the Kyiv Cathedral of the Assumption, the Hryhorii Skovoroda National Literary and Memorial Museum, the Chernobyl Museum, and the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves). The threat is not limited to historical buildings. Artistic heritage preserved in museums and collections has also suffered the consequences of the war, including the looting of Ukrainian cultural artifacts.

The attack on the church in Beryslav comes just days after another incident targeting a cultural institution. A Russian missile struck the roof of the Kharkiv Art Museum, causing significant damage to the building and injuring six people, including a baby.

The destruction of the Cossack church takes on a particularly significant dimension due to the nature of the building. It was not merely a religious temple, but an architectural document constructed of wood that preserved the traces of a specific historical tradition. Its value lay precisely in its authenticity, in the original materials, and in the continuity of its presence in the region.

War thus makes heritage another of its victims. When a historic building disappears, not only is architecture lost: construction techniques, collective memory, symbols of identity, and an irreplaceable part of a community's history vanish. In the case of Ukraine, the magnitude of the losses also poses the challenge of documenting, protecting, and preserving what still remains standing.