Over 100,000 Exhibits Evacuated from Kharkiv Region Museums During War
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, more than 100,000 valuable museum items have been evacuated from Kharkiv region; some museums are completely empty. A shelter for cultural valuables is planned in the region.
Oleksandr Kostin, deputy director of the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, announced that over 100,000 museum items have been evacuated from the region's museums since the beginning of the full-scale war. Some institutions, such as those in Vovchansk, Kupiansk, and Izium, have been completely emptied, including exhibits that were not in the priority evacuation categories.
The evacuation was carried out in three tiers: first, items of global significance; second, items of national significance; third, items of local significance; and finally, the remaining collections. Most items from the first three tiers have been moved abroad.
Kostin also stated that a special shelter is planned to be built in the Kharkiv region. It would serve as a civil protection structure, allowing cultural valuables to be stored without removing them from the region. The project has already passed expert review, with an estimated cost of about 200 million hryvnias. Such a shelter would be especially useful for items that cannot be evacuated.
