Mayor: Russia's missile strike on UNESCO-listed historic center of Odesa damages about 15 monuments
Kyiv • UNN
A Russian missile attack damaged about 15 historic buildings in the center of Odesa, including the Bristol Hotel. Among the affected buildings are the Philharmonic and museums under UNESCO protection.
A missile attack by the Russian Federation, which targeted the Historic Center of Odesa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, damaged about 15 historic buildings in the center of Odesa, and the Bristol Hotel building was heavily damaged, Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov said on Telegram on Saturday, UNN reports.
On 31.01.2025, the Historic Center of Odesa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was again the target of a missile attack. The building of the Bristol Hotel, one of the most prominent architectural structures in the city center, suffered significant damage, the extent of which has not yet been determined. Nearby historic buildings were damaged as a result of the powerful blast wave. About 15 cultural heritage monuments sustained varying degrees of damage
According to him, the main damage was broken window panes and displaced carpentry.
"Among the affected objects are two monuments of national importance: the Philharmonic (New Exchange), the Vuchin House, and two museums: The Museum of Western and Eastern Art and a branch of the Literary Museum (Sikar House)," Trukhanov said.
According to him, the stained-glass windows and authentic carpentry filling of large windows with semicircular ends in the buildings of the Union of Architects of Ukraine and Porto Franco Bank suffered significant damage.
"The most valuable of the damaged buildings from an architectural and social point of view is the Philharmonic (Nova Byrzha). The blast wave knocked out the authentic carpentry of the main entrance, damaged the stained glass windows and interior decoration. The impact of the attack on the main structures will be assessed by specialists after an additional inspection," said Trukhanov.
Since 2023, the Philharmonic building has been under enhanced UNESCO protection under the Second Protocol of 1999 to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.