Kharkiv Art Museum in flames, baby injured after 'cynical' Russian drone attack

Editor's note: This is a developing story.

Russia launched a drone strike against the Kharkiv Art Museum in the northwestern city of Kharkiv the evening of June 14, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.

The attack in the city's Kyivskyi district hit the museum, causing a major fire, and injured four people: four women ages 62, 34, 28, and 22, and a 1-month-old infant. The baby girl has been hospitalized, while the women are reported to be in stable condition.

Syniehubov described the attack as "another act of Russian terrorism." Emergency response efforts at the museum are ongoing, he said.

Rescue crews, municipal workers, city officials, volunteers, and ordinary Kharkiv residents worked together to evacuate museum exhibits, Ukraine's State Emergency service said. Firefighters are also working to eliminate the blaze, despite the threat of ongoing Russian shelling or a double-tap strike.

"Russians dealt a cynical blow to a cultural and historical heritage site," the State Emergency Service said. The fire at the museum reportedly engulfed an area of over 1,200 square meters (12,916 square feet.)

The fire has since been localized, the Emergency Service said in an update later in the evening.

As first responders worked at the scene of the museum strike, Russian drones attacked another district of Kharkiv that same night.

The Kharkiv Art Museum, which Syniehubov called "a local architectural monument," was designed by Ukrainian architect Oleksiy Beketov. It houses a collection of artworks by prominent Ukrainian painters, including Taras Shevchenko and Illia Repin. It also contains works by famous Russian artists.

The collection encompasses 25,000 pieces, including paintings, graphics, sculptures, and works of decorative and applied arts.

Russia's attacks against Ukraine have frequently targeted the country's cultural and artistic sites. A mass attack against Kyiv on May 24 damaged the National Art Museum, one of the oldest and most important museums in Ukraine. The collection, which ranges from classic to contemporary art, was not damaged, according to the Culture Ministry.

The same attack damaged the Kyiv Opera Theater, the Ukrainian House, the Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium, and the Chornobyl Museum. Over 40% of the items in the Chornobyl Museum's collection were "irrevocably lost," the Interior Ministry said.

Russia's attacks have razed museums, historic churches, and cultural monuments. Some works escaped destruction only to later be stolen by occupying Russian forces.

The Kharkiv Art Museum previously sustained damage from Russian attacks in 2022, the first year of the full-scale invasion.

The museum houses Ukraine's largest collection of paintings by Illia Repin, including the famous "Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks."

Repin was one of the most prominent painters of the Russian Empire, known for his realistic and psychologically rich portraits, historical scenes, and depictions of everyday life. Born in Chuhuiv in today's Kharkiv Oblast, Repin was deeply influenced by Ukrainian culture and landscapes throughout his life.

Although often labeled a Russian artist due to the imperial context of his time, Repin's identity and work are closely tied to Ukraine.