“While missiles destroy walls, human hands and hearts are bringing back to life what others wanted to destroy. These days are about a fierce struggle for every fragment of our memory,” museum representatives said.
In a statement, the museum said staff members had managed to recover and preserve about 30 priceless artifacts while clearing rubble and conducting search operations inside the devastated exhibition hall.
“To find them intact under tons of concrete is a tremendous achievement — our shared victory over destruction. Every artifact lifted from the dust feels like a breath of fresh air for the entire museum,” the statement said.
Museum workers also discovered fragments of one of the missiles Russia used in its May 24 attack on Kyiv.
The museum said staff continue clearing debris and searching centimeter by centimeter through the ruins for unique exhibits that can still be saved.
“Every object rescued today is our manifesto. It is proof that our culture cannot be shot or buried under concrete. It will live on,” museum representatives added.
Russia’s massive attack on Kyiv on May 24
Overnight into May 24, Russian forces launched a massive attack on Kyiv using strike drones and air-, sea- and ground-launched missiles. At least 91 people were injured and three people were killed in the attack.
Damage to civilian and administrative infrastructure was recorded at 49 locations across the capital.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 690 aerial attack weapons against Ukraine between 6 p.m. on May 23 and the morning of May 24, including 90 missiles and 600 drones of various types.
The strike on the Lukianivka district destroyed a market and shopping mall, damaged a metro station that was temporarily closed because of the attack and hit other nearby buildings, including the Small Opera theater. The attack also damaged the Chornobyl Museum, Zhytniy Market and other historical and cultural sites in Kyiv.
Yurii Ihnat, head of communications for Ukraine’s Air Force, said Russia struck the area near Bila Tserkva with an RS-26 Rubezh (Oreshnik) intermediate-range ballistic missile. Volodymyr Zelenskyy later confirmed the use of the missile.
According to Zelenskyy, about 300 sites in Kyiv were damaged in the May 24 attack, nearly half of them residential buildings.