The Impact of the Russian-Ukrainian War on the System of Preservation and Restoration of Ukraine’s Cultural Heritage: Institutional and Empirical Dimensions

Abstract

The purpose of the work is to understand the scale and nature of damage to cultural heritage sites in the context of full-scale war, as well as to analyse the transformations of institutional mechanisms for their preservation and restoration with the participation of state, public, and international actors. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war on the system of preservation and restoration of Ukraine’s cultural heritage in institutional and empirical terms. The research methodology is based on a combination of analysis of official statistical and analytical data from international and national institutions (UNESCO, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine), institutional analysis of management practices, and a synthesis of the results of contemporary scientific research in the field of cultural heritage protection in conditions of armed conflict. The scientific novelty lies in the integration of empirical data on the extent of damage to Ukraine’s cultural heritage with an analytical understanding of changes in its management and restoration system in conditions of martial law, as well as in identifying key resource, personnel, and coordination challenges that determine the effectiveness of institutional response. The study found that full-scale war led to the transformation of the traditional model of cultural heritage protection towards cross-sectoral cooperation, within which the state, civil society, and international organisations perform complementary functions. The conclusions of the article show that the process of post-war restoration of Ukraine’s cultural heritage should be viewed not only as the technical restoration of damaged objects, but also as a factor in institutional modernisation, social cohesion, and the restoration of national identity, which requires strategic planning and integration into nationwide reconstruction programmes.