In Mariupol Russian troops destroyed the Kuindzhi Art Museum. The collection included paintings by world renowned artists, reported Mariupol city council.
According to the head of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine Konstantin Chernyavsky the original works of the painter Arkhip Kuindzhi, who was born in Mariupol, were not in the museum at the time of the shelling. Copies by Andriy Yalansky and Oleksandr Olkhov remained in the building.
The museum also housed original works of other Ukrainian artists: Ivan Aivazovsky, Mykola Hlushchenko, Tetyana Yablonska, Mykhailo Derehus, and others. It is currently unknown what happened to those paintings.
The museums contained approximately two thousand works including still life, applied arts, graphic works and sculpture.
The ongoing siege of Mariupol is being personally supervised by Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, director of the Russian National Center for Defense Management. He formerly led Russian operations in Syria.
On March 19, Russian troops dropped bombs on an art school in Mariupol. About 400 civilians were hiding in the building. Information as to the number of victims has not yet been reported.