Russian Drone Strike Wrecks Vintage Cars of Ousted Yanukovych Near Kyiv

A Russian drone attack in the Kyiv region caused significant damage to a vintage car museum, based on the car collection of Ukraine’s ousted fourth president, Viktor Yanukovych, regional military administration head Mykola Kalashnyk reported on January 28.

The photos show damage to a variety of Moskvitch cars, built in the 50s or 60s, a few USSR-made ZAZ Zaporozhets cars, destroyed a Gaz 14 ‘Chaika, ’ one of the 1114 built in the Soviet Union. There is also visible damage to the first mass-produced luxury car in the Soviet Union, Gaz-12 ZIM.

Debris from a downed unmanned aerial vehicle sparked a fire covering an area of 600 square meters. The blaze destroyed nine vehicles and damaged 27 others, according to Kalashnyk.

While he did not specify the exact location of the museum, photographs shared on his Telegram channel suggest it is the vintage car museum in Mezhyhirya, near Vyshhorod. The roof structure visible in the images of the damaged hangar matches that of the museum, which was established in 2014 using Yanukovych’s personal collection of vehicles.

Kalashnyk also detailed other damage caused by the drone strike across three districts in the region. The attack damaged two private homes, three non-residential buildings, and three vehicles. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian former Ukrainian president, fled to Russia on February 21, 2014, after failing to suppress mass protests. The demonstrations began with a peaceful student-led protest sparked by a sudden shift in Ukraine’s stance toward Russia. Around 10,000 students and members of civil society initially gathered on Kyiv’s Maidan Square, demanding closer ties with the European Union.

On November 30, 2013, the Berkut police force violently cracked down on the peaceful demonstrators. This action ignited the Revolution of Dignity, which ultimately led to the collapse of the Yanukovych regime and set Ukraine back on a path toward a European future.

Earlier, reports emerged that as of December 2024, at least 1,255 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine were damaged during the full-scale Russian invasion.