Ukraine is preparing lawsuits against Russia for the destruction of cultural and religious heritage sites, says the head of the Ministry of Culture

The Ukrainian government is actively documenting the extent of damage to cultural infrastructure caused by the hostilities in order to prepare subsequent claims for compensation. This was stated by Tatyana Berezhnaya, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for Humanitarian Policy and Minister of Culture, during the C8 Carpathian Summit.

According to , Tatyana Berezhnaya stated that the process of documenting every instance of damage is a priority, as the evidence gathered will serve as the legal basis for filing financial claims against the Russian Federation. According to current data from the Ministry of Culture, there are more than 2,100 damaged cultural heritage sites in the country, and the total number of affected cultural institutions exceeds 2,600.

The situation with religious buildings is of particular concern. According to Mikhail Britsin, director of the Department of Religious Freedom at “Mission Eurasia,” at least 70 unique places of worship were damaged in the first seven months of 2026 alone, nine of which were completely destroyed. The statistics highlight that places of worship of various denominations were targeted, including communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU), the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC), the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), as well as Protestant, Jewish, and Islamic organizations.

As a reminder, the administration of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve reported extensive damage to the Cathedral of the Dormition. According to estimates by the reserve’s director, Maksym Ostapenko ( ), approximately 15 million euros will be needed for the full restoration of the monastery’s main cathedral. Part of the funding for urgent emergency repairs has already been allocated from the state’s reserve fund, and the Swiss government has provided a grant of 700,000 euros to prepare the design and cost estimate documentation.