Published: 20260325
On March 24, 2026, terrorist russia conducted a 24-hour bombardment of Ukraine, launching approximately 1,000 various missiles and drones into the country. This represents an exceptionally intense act of state terrorism during the fifth year of ongoing aggression and is undeniably another brutal war crime.
"The Palace of the Grand Dukes Museum has maintained friendly ties with Ukrainian museum professionals, especially in Lviv, for many years. Our museum community was shocked by the news that yesterday evening, one of the exploding drones damaged a historical building in the courtyard of the St. Andrew’s Bernardine Monastery, burned its roof, and the blast wave damaged the church located just 10 meters away," says Dr. Vydas Dolinskas, Director General of the Palace of the Grand Dukes Museum. "Targeting a historical building in the Old Town of Lviv – the jewel of Ukraine – is a barbaric, animalistic act."
According to Ukrainian sources, the drones and missiles sent by russia deliberately targeted the historical center of Lviv, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Most of the attacks were directed at civilian objects, and several drones that arrived in the late afternoon struck the historical centers of both Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk. The historical stained glass and interior decorations of the St. Andrew’s Bernardine Monastery were saved only because the windows had been boarded up with wooden panels at the beginning of the war.
A Monument of Shared Heritage
The ensemble of the St. Andrew’s Bernardine Church and Monastery in Lviv is one of the most important spiritual centers in Western Ukraine, currently housing Basilian monks (Greek Rite Catholics). It is a stunning monument of late Renaissance and Mannerist architecture and art, blending Italian and Northern European artistic styles.
Built in the early 17th century, the church’s natural stone facade is adorned with the coats of arms of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The interior is distinguished by luxurious gilded wooden altars from the early 18th century. The right facade of the church, near which the drone fell and exploded, is decorated with a sculpture of St. Casimir, the patron saint of Lithuania. Historically, both the Bernardines who lived there in ancient times and the Basilians who settled there in the 20th century maintained close ties with Lithuanian monastic orders. Thus, the Lviv Bernardine ensemble attacked by russia is an object of European heritage of significant importance to Lithuanian history.
A Call for Solidarity
The community of the Palace of the Grand Dukes Museum stands in solidarity with our Ukrainian sisters and brothers. We condemn the barbarity of the aggressor state and call upon the global community and world leaders to respond responsibly to these unjustifiable russian actions. These acts pose a massive threat to the symbols of European civilization in Ukraine and destroy the principles of world heritage protection and preservation established in the UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
Photos provided by the Palace of the Grand Dukes Museum.
