Russian Drones Damage Classic Car Museum In Ukraine

War is messy and there’s always collateral damage, including classic car collections, sadly. A museum housing classic cars in Kyiv, Ukraine was hit in a Russian drone attack recently, with nine cars destroyed and another 27 damaged, some severely. We know this doesn’t even begin to equate to the loss of life and human suffering in the war, but it’s still a sad sight to see.  

Learn how the first drones were actually developed for WWI.

Believe it or not, those cars actually used to belong to Vladimir Putin’s ally, former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich. It’s not clear if the museum was intentionally hit as the drones stuck other targets on the night of January 28.

After the drone strike, a fire broke out in the hangar that acted as the car museum, which is what reportedly really damaged the vehicles. The precise location of the collection hasn’t been disclosed.

Five other buildings, including two houses, were hit in the same attack. Fortunately, no casualties have been reported.

Some are celebrating seeing Yanukovich’s beloved rides destroyed. We don’t really care about the man or his politics. Instead, we just think it’s sad that such rare historical cars were destroyed senselessly. After all, what was really accomplished by hitting the museum?

Yanukovich has been exiled after he was stripped of his presidential title by the Ukrainian parliament in 2015. The man lived an opulent lifestyle before that with not only this amazing car collection but a private zoo, shooting range, 18-hole golf course, tennis court, bowling alley, etc. housed on his estate, reports Newsweek.

During WWII quite a few classic cars were destroyed in the conflict as buildings were bombed or hit by mortars during military operations. Others were taken by force and used to produce equipment to fuel the war machine for the different countries. This is why some took to hiding their classic cars in barns, covering them with hay or even burying them.

Some things never change.

Images via Kyiv Regional Military Administration