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COLUMN: Two missiles strike a warehouse in Bucha, and a work by Ai Weiwei burns along with everything else
Maxime Marquette

Primary Sources:

UNESCO, cultural sites in Ukraine damaged and verified by the Organization: 545 sites as of July 29, 2026, including 281 buildings of historical or artistic interest, 156 religious sites, 43 museums, 33 monuments, 22 libraries, 5 archaeological sites, and 5 archives; regional breakdown: Donetsk 138, Kharkiv 87, Odessa 65, and Kyiv region 56; updated July 30, 2026

Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, register of losses: 1,783 damaged heritage monuments, including 46 destroyed; 161 of national significance and 1,460 of local significance; 2,540 cultural facilities affected, including 518 destroyed, among which are 1,252 cultural centers, 879 libraries, 141 museums and galleries, 52 theaters, movie theaters, and concert halls, and one film studio; 341 local communities affected; May 13, 2026

United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, July 2026 report: 437 civilians killed and 2,610 wounded, the worst month since March 2022, a 30% increase from June and a 70% increase from July 2025; the Kyiv region leads with 54 dead and 202 injured; a cumulative total of 16,874 civilians killed, including 820 children, and 51,273 injured, including 3,126 children, since February 24, 2022; statement by Danielle Bell, August 13, 2026

ArmyInform, the news agency of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Air Force statement regarding the night of July 18–19, 2026: 166 attack vehicles, 41 missiles, and 125 drones; 25 Iskander-M and S-400 ballistic missiles from Bryansk and Kursk; 10 Zircon missiles from Kursk; 3 Oniks from occupied Crimea, 3 Kh-59/69 over the Black Sea, 126 targets neutralized by 8:30 a.m., including 18 missiles and 108 drones, impacts at 20 locations and falling debris at 18 others, July 19, 2026

ArmyInform, press release from the State Emergency Situations Service regarding the Bucha district: fires in storage buildings and at a logistics facility; two injured according to preliminary data; enhanced-level response operations underway at multiple sites, July 19, 2026

RIBBON International, sponsor of the artwork, project description: three spheres inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s treatise De divina proportione, animal-print camouflage, exhibition in Pavilion 13 from September 14 to November 30, 2025, a building from 1967 renovated in 2025, partners FORMA, Veteranka, and Ukrainska Pravda, Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 7:00 p.m., accessed September 3, 2026

Lisson Gallery, the gallery representing Ai Weiwei, announcement of the installation in Kyiv: title of the work, commissioned by RIBBON International, dates from September 14 to November 30, 2025, reference to De divina proportione and the earlier work Five Raincoats Holding a Star, statement by the artist on the dialogue between war and peace, accessed September 3, 2026

Kyiv Regional Military Administration, standard press release on the consequences of an attack in the Bucha district: damaged storage facilities and vehicles, explicit mention of no casualties, emergency services working at the scene, accessed September 3, 2026

Secondary Sources:

United24 Media, Russian ballistic missiles destroy a warehouse housing a work by Ai Weiwei near Kyiv: warehouse in the Bucha district hit by two ballistic missiles on July 19, artist’s announcement on Instagram, extent of damage to the work unknown, September 3, 2026

Forbes Ukraine, a missile strike destroys the factory and warehouses of military ammunition manufacturer UKRTAC: production capacity of up to 20,000 bulletproof vests per month; the Amtel logistics complex, spanning approximately 100,000 square meters in the Bucha district; a post by founder Georgy Dangadze on Facebook; no employees injured; July 19, 2026

Apostrophe, destruction of the Amtel logistics complex in the Bucha district: 100,200 square meters in area; two warehouse buildings covering approximately 100,000 square meters set ablaze; two injured according to preliminary data; more than 200 rescue workers and 73 vehicles, including 3 helicopters; July 19, 2026

Kyiv Independent, one of the largest Russian ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv: first explosions around 1:30 a.m. and ending around 2:38 a.m., at least one dead and 17 injured in Kyiv and the surrounding region, at least 9 hospitalized, including 3 in serious condition, two injured in the Kyiv region near Bucha, fires at a residential building, a supermarket, a warehouse, and a logistics facility, July 19, 2026

Al Jazeera: Largest ballistic attack on Kyiv since the start of the war—one dead and 16 injured in Kyiv; four dead at a postal depot in Kharkiv; two dead in Kherson, including a 75-year-old woman, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin; a 16-year-old boy killed at an amusement park in Odessa, with twelve injured; one dead in Zaporizhzhia; two in the Donetsk region; one in the Dnipropetrovsk region; and one in Sumy, according to Governor Oleh Hryhorov, July 19, 2026

Al Jazeera, criminal investigation into the attack on the ammunition depot in the village of Mila, Bucha district, on the night of August 29–30, 2026: 37 dead, dozens injured, more than 50 residential buildings damaged, approximately 400 people evacuated, death of Dmytrivka Mayor Taras Didych, investigation into the legality of the storage and the permits, reactions from Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Governor Tymur Tkatchenko, August 29, 2026

OBOZ.UA, explosions in the Kyiv region on July 19, 2026: a fire covering approximately 100,000 square meters in two warehouse buildings; the UKRTAC factory completely destroyed; more than 200 first responders and 73 vehicles, including 3 helicopters; the fire contained around 9 a.m., July 19, 2026

NV, two people injured in the Bucha district: a woman suffered smoke inhalation and was sent home after examination; a man was hospitalized with multiple shrapnel wounds, according to Ruslan Oliynyk, acting head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, July 19, 2026

ZN.ua, fire at storage buildings and a logistics facility in the Bucha district on the night of July 19, 2026; two injured; information from the State Emergency Service, July 19, 2026

United24 Media, unveiling of the installation at Pavilion 13 on September 14, 2025: spheres twice the size of a man, camouflage patterns derived from the fur of rescued cats, curated by Maria Lanko, Pavilion of Culture co-founded by Iryna Miroshnykova, hosted by former prisoner of war Maksym Boutkevytch, captured in June 2022, the artist’s response to a prisoner via postcard, free admission through November 30, 2025, three visits to Ukraine since early 2025

The Art Newspaper, presentation of Ai Weiwei’s new installation in Ukraine: commissioned by RIBBON International, supported by Pavilion of Culture, renovation of Pavilion 13 by the FORMA studio, three interconnected spheres ranging from six to three meters in diameter, camouflage uniforms featuring patterns inspired by rescued cats, painted white and fastened with buttons, free admission, exhibition from September 14 to November 30, 2025, June 25, 2025

United24 Media, interview with Ai Weiwei by Lucile Brizard: detained for over 80 days in a four-by-four-meter cell in 2011; remarks on the true artist compared to a soldier, on the particular emotion that war demands of art, and on his attraction to places of chaos, November 20, 2025

Kyiv Times, Russian missiles destroy Ai Weiwei’s installation: a warehouse in the Bucha district struck by two ballistic missiles on July 19, 2026; exhibition at the Culture Pavilion of the National Exhibition Center from September 14 to November 30, 2025; three metal spheres inspired by the divine proportion, a layer of white paint alluding to censorship and the silence surrounding war crimes, visit to frontline positions in the Kharkiv region in the summer of 2025, September 3, 2026

BZH, a Russian attack on the Kyiv region destroys the warehouse housing Ai Weiwei’s installation: strike on July 19, 2026; announcement by the artist on Instagram; condition of the work unknown; exhibition from September 2025 at Pavilion 13 of the National Exhibition Center, a building dating from 1967, September 3, 2026

designboom, presentation of the installation at Pavilion 13 with RIBBON International, proportionate and uniform dyed camouflage spheres, September 2025

This content was created with the help of AI.

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