Car museum damaged by bombing in Ukraine

A Russian drone strike on the night of 28 January caused serious damage to an antique car museum in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Wreckage from a downed drone hit the museum's structure, resulting in a fire.

Emergency crews managed to extinguish the flames, which spread over an area of 600 square metres. According to preliminary reports, nine vehicles were completely destroyed and 27 others were damaged.

The museum before the bomber

Photo by: Jason Vogel

The museum is located in Mezhyhirya, 12 miles from the centre of Kiev, and was originally the private collection of Viktor Yanukovych, the president ousted in February 2014. 

After Yanukovych fled Ukraine his residence in Mezhyhirya was transformed into a memorial park that includes a zoo, stables, lakes, a marina, a tennis court and a former garage that was converted into a museum.

ZIL and Chaika turned to rubble - Photo - State Emergency Service of the Kiev region

Photo by: Jason Vogel

The exhibition featured around 70 cars, with an emphasis on Soviet-era classics. In an ironic twist of fate, the area most affected by the wreckage of the Russian drone was precisely the area containing the limousines used by heads of state and senior leaders aligned with Moscow in the days of the USSR: the 'Chaika' GAZ-13 and GAZ-14 and a few ZIL 4104 series.

Simpler cars such as the GAZ-M20 Pobeda, GAZ-M21 Volga and ZAZ-965 Zaporozhets also had their place in the collection. Another colourful wing was that of military vehicles from the Second World War, such as the GAZ-67 and the Dodge WC, as well as a handful of motorcycles.

The damaged Zaporozhets - Photo - State Emergency Service of the Kiev region

The damaged pre-war Ford and DKW - Photo - State Emergency Service of the Kiev region

The limousine wing was the most damaged Photo - State Emergency Service of the Kiev region

Photos by: Jason Vogel

Models from the 1930s, such as a pre-war DKW and a Ford coupé, were damaged. Some of the cars in the collection previously belonged to the Ukrainian film studio Dovzhenko Film. The collection of Yanukovych, who was passionate about motoring, included more modern models such as a Mercedes G-Class and an SLS AMG, both customised.

The rarest and most expensive example in the original collection was a 1938 Horch 855 Spezial Cabriolet. Valued at at least $2 million (£1.6 million), the car simply disappeared after Yanukovych was deposed.

Gallery: Museum bombed in Ukraine

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Source: Jason Vogel

The drone attack on the Mezhyhirya Museum highlights the vulnerability of historical heritage in the face of the war in Ukraine. After the attack was announced, social media users initially thought that another car museum in Kiev, the Wheels of History - which has a collection of over a hundred classic cars - had been targeted. However, the museum is untouched by the war.

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