A Russian drone attack on Kyiv struck a museum that houses a fleet of vintage cars which used to belong to Viktor Yanukovich, the former Ukrainian president and ally of Vladimir Putin, it has been reported.
The Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) hit the site in Vyshhorod near Kyiv with images showing the charred remains of the vehicles.
Newsweek has contacted Russia’s defense ministry for comment by email.
Given his reputation for corruption when head of state before fleeing into exile, Ukrainian media outlets have delighted in reporting that Yanukovich’s fleet had been damaged by drone debris launched from Russia.
Yanukovich is reviled by many in Ukraine not just for his graft but his rejection of closer ties with the EU in favor of Kyiv’s relationship with Moscow which sparked Euromaidan protests in 2014.
Fearing for his life, Yanukovich abandoned his lavish Mezhyhirya estate near the Ukrainian capital worth an estimated $75 million and fled to Moscow in 2014, where is believed to remain today.
Putin destroyed Yanukovych’s car collection In the Kyiv region, debris from a Russian “Shahed” drone struck a museum of vintage cars. The museum housed unique vehicles from the infamous garage of fugitive former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his residence… pic.twitter.com/SsakqcYQxL
He was stripped of his presidential title by parliament in 2015 and he was sentenced in absentia in 2019 for high treason.
His former property contained a private zoo, underground shooting range, 18-hole golf course, tennis, and bowling and it was rampaged by protesters who posted images of the opulent surroundings. The estate has been turned into a museum as a symbol of corruption and included a fleet of his retro cars.
Kyiv’s regional military administration head Mykola Kalashnyk said on Tuesday that debris from a Russian drone attack sparked a fire that spread over 6,400 square feet, destroying nine vintage vehicles and damaging 29 others.
Kalashnyk did not specify the exact location of the site but the images he shared suggested it was the vintage car museum at the lavish property, the Kyiv Post reported.
Other Ukrainian news outlets also reported the story, posting images which showed damage to a variety of 1950s and 1960s Moskvitch vintage cars. Soviet-era ZAZ Zaporozhets cars, a Gaz 14 ‘Chaika and the first mass-produced luxury car in the Soviet Union, Gaz-12 ZIM were also damaged.
Kyiv’s regional military administration head Mykola Kalashnyk: “In an enemy UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attack on the region, fragments of a downed target damaged the premises in which a museum of retro cars was located.”
United 24 Media reported: “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.”
The drone strikes on Kyiv were several launched by Russia overnight Monday across multiple regions of the country which targeted and damaged civilian infrastructure, Ukrainian authorities said. Moscow is likely to continue this barrage in the coming months.
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular the war started by Moscow. He also covers other areas of geopolitics including China. Brendan joined Newsweek in 2018 from the International Business Times and well as English, knows Russian and French. You can get in touch with Brendan by emailing [email protected] or follow on him on his X account @brendanmarkcole.