Inside the Museum Halls

The main exhibition space sits inside the monument's pedestal. Fifteen thousand objects are arranged across sixteen halls totalling around 5,000 square metres, unified by a narrative arc called "The Road of War." The chronological display runs from 1939 through the complete occupation of Ukraine, documenting the human cost of a conflict that claimed between eight and ten million Ukrainian lives. Among the stories highlighted are Ukraine's outsized contribution to the Allied victory—officer Oleksiy Berest led the squad that raised the banner over the Reichstag, and general Kuzma Derevyanko signed Japan's surrender on behalf of the USSR.↗↗↗

A solemn memorial hall within the complex displays marble plaques engraved with the names of more than 11,600 soldiers and 200 home-front workers who received the highest Soviet-era honors. The broader collection has grown past 300,000 items, and the museum's curatorial mission has expanded well beyond 1945.↗↗

The Grounds and Open-Air Displays

Beyond the monument, the landscaped hillside is itself a narrative. A sculpture gallery depicts the 1941 border defence, the Nazi occupation, the partisan struggle, industrial mobilisation on the home front, and the pivotal 1943 Battle of the Dnieper. A dramatic monument called Crossing of the Dnieper evokes the desperate river assault that broke the German line. The Bowl of Glory—an enormous bronze flame sculpture—anchors the central memorial square. Along the perimeter, an open-air exhibition of twentieth-century military hardware includes aircraft you can step inside: a Mi-24 "Crocodile" attack helicopter, a Li-2 transport plane, and a MiG-23 jet fighter, each for a small additional fee.↗↗↗

The Alley of the Hero Cities once listed every Soviet "hero city," but in December 2024 the names of Russian and Belarusian cities were removed as part of the museum's ongoing effort to shed Soviet narratives and reframe the memorial around Ukrainian experience.↗

Documenting the Present War

The museum has become one of the world's most important first-response institutions for documenting the Russian-Ukrainian war. On 8 May 2022—just weeks after Kyiv and Chernihiv regions were liberated—it opened "Ukraine—Crucifixion," the first permanent museum exhibition anywhere dedicated to the ongoing conflict. The project has travelled to Riga, Tallinn, New York and Bratislava, and the museum's exhibitions were presented in fifteen countries during the first years of the full-scale war. A multimedia martyrology of fallen children is housed in the 18th-century Upper Moscow Gate of the Pechersk Fortress.↗↗

A Living Memorial in Transition

Established in 1974 at the Klovsky Palace and ceremonially moved to this hilltop site on Victory Day 1981 by Leonid Brezhnev, the complex was renamed in 2015—dropping the Soviet-era "Great Patriotic War" title after Ukraine's de-communisation laws. It gained National Museum status by presidential decree in 1996. Today, under director Yurii Savchuk, the institution is actively redefining its societal role. Its work has earned the Judges' Special Recognition Prize at the London Museums + Heritage Awards (2023), recognition at the European Museum Academy Awards (2023), and a nomination for European Museum of the Year (2024). More than 24 million visitors from nearly 200 countries have walked these grounds.↗↗↗

Visiting

The main building and exhibitions centre open Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 to 16:30, and Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 17:30. Monday is the day off. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing, and the entire complex closes during air raid alerts—a reminder that this museum is operating in a country at war. General admission to the permanent exhibition is UAH 70; guided tours cost UAH 250 for groups in Ukrainian and UAH 500 in a foreign language. On the last Tuesday of every month, entrance is free for all visitors (with a few exceptions such as the aircraft and observation platforms). The café on the grounds serves coffee and light fare, and the museum is wheelchair accessible at the entrance, parking, and seating areas.↗↗↗↗

The museum sits on Lavrska Street in the Pechersk district, within easy walking distance of the UNESCO-listed Kyiv Pechersk Lavra monastery. The hillside location gives the complex commanding views of the Dnipro, especially from the upper observation platforms on clear days. Plan at least two to three hours for the museum halls; add more time if you want to walk the sculpture galleries, explore the outdoor military equipment, or climb the Pedestal viewing deck.↗↗