Ukrainian monastery in UNESCO-listed site damaged by Russian drone strikes

Russian drone strikes have hit the UNESCO-listed historic centre of Lviv in Ukraine, reportedly damaging the 17th-century Bernardine Monastery.

A video shared on X by Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko shows a drone flying over the city and hitting a building in the vicinity of the monastery, which has reportedly sustained damage.

Russia is attacking a crowded city center in broad daylight. Just minutes ago, Russian-Iranian drones struck the city of Lviv, seriously injuring two people.

One of the targets was the 17th-century St. Andrew’s Church, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Only strength,… pic.twitter.com/YflT60ZEua

— Yulia Svyrydenko (@Svyrydenko_Y) March 24, 2026

The Bernardine Monastery in Lviv has been damaged in a drone strike

The Bernardine Monastery and adjacent Saint Andrew's Church were commissioned by the Bernardine Order in 1600. Built in a mannerist style in 1620, the church underwent Baroque-style changes in the 1730s.

UNESCO added Lviv's historic city centre, including the area of the monastery, to its World Heritage List in 1998. In 2023, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the area was also added to UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger.

"UNESCO is deeply alarmed by the 24 March strikes that hit a building in the area of Bernardine Monastery within the World Heritage property of 'Lviv – the Ensemble of the Historic Centre'," said UNESCO.

"UNESCO recalls that cultural property is protected under the 1954 Hague Convention and the 1972 World Heritage Convention," it continued. "All parties must safeguard heritage and refrain from any acts harming cultural property."

The attack was one of nearly 1,000 drone strikes to hit locations across Ukraine on Tuesday, in what was reported as Russia's largest aerial attack on Ukraine over a 24-hour period since the beginning of the war. The attacks have killed at least seven people, according to The Guardian.

In a post on X, Ukrainian minister of foreign affairs Andrii Sybiha shared a photo of a residential building next to the Bernardine Monastery on fire. In the accompanying text, he called out the Venice Biennale for its decision to allow the Russian Pavilion to participate in this year's art biennale.

"This is the ugly face of barbaric Russia – destroyed UNESCO World Heritage in the protected centre of Lviv," said Sybiha. "This is the barbarism you wish to normalise at the Biennale."

In 2024, two years into Russia's full-scale invasion, Dezeen spoke with architecture and design studios about how they were adapting to support the war effort while also trying to stay in business. Last month, we looked at the unexpected trend of striking interiors that have emerged in Ukraine in the past two years.

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