A Russian strike on Kyiv Oblast led to the complete destruction of a unique installation by the Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei. The work was stored in a building that, according to the artist, became the target of ballistic missiles. This is reported by Wave RBC.UA, citing the artist's own Instagram, where he published footage of the damaged premises after the shelling and showed the destroyed structure.

What was destroyed

The art object titled "Three Perfectly Proportioned Spheres and White-Painted Camouflage Uniforms" was located in a facility in the Bucha district on the outskirts of Kyiv. According to Ai Weiwei, the structure in which the work was stored was hit by two ballistic missiles on the morning of July 19. The published photos show fragments of the white fabric that covered the structure, as well as the damaged architecture of the building that housed the installation.

Idea and construction of the work

The piece was created as an artistic manifesto against global armed confrontations. Its structure consisted of three interconnected spherical forms covered with white-painted pixel and camouflage clothing. Through the combination of geometry and a white palette, the artist sought to prompt the viewer to reflect on war, peace, and the ideological "whitewashing" of violence.

Context: the Kyiv exhibition

Ai Weiwei personally presented his work in Kyiv at the Culture Pavilion of the EXPO (VDNKh). The exhibition ran from September 14 to November 30, 2025, after which the installation was moved to storage in the aforementioned facility in the Bucha district, where, according to the artist's statement, it was damaged by the missile strike.

Who is Ai Weiwei

Ai Weiwei was born in Beijing. He is an artist, sculptor, photographer, and public activist who has openly criticized the dictatorship and the communist regime of the PRC. His name regularly appears on lists of the most influential figures in contemporary art, and his visit to Ukraine and his time at the front were previously covered by Ukrainian and Russian media.

Contradictory data

In the original source, the date of the strike is given as "in July of this year" and "on the morning of July 19," which in the context of the publication refers to July 2025 — a period consistent with the end of the Kyiv exhibition in November 2025. From the perspective of the current date (September 2026), this episode belongs to last year. Meanwhile, the exact number and type of missiles (two ballistic) are cited from the artist's own statement and have not been independently confirmed in the provided sources.