On 13 April 2025, as a result of a missile strike on the Sumy center, historical sites, in particular architectural monuments on Petropavlivska Street, suffered significant damage and destruction. These sites are of local cultural and historical value. They are part of the city’s unique historical and architectural environment.

Due to the damage scale and need for quick, accurate, and visually accurate documentation of the shelling consequences, it became necessary to use modern digital recording technologies. The research, documentation of damage, and scanning of objects via photogrammetry were carried out by a SumDU team as part of the research project “Scientific Foundations of Virtual Reconstruction of Destroyed Cultural Heritage Objects for Ukrainian Recovery Strategy”. The project is being conducted in cooperation with the Department of Culture, Tourism and Religions and the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Sumy Regional State Administration.

The destruction was recorded via photogrammetry in combination with aerial photography and ground-based photo recording. To obtain the source data, a DJI Mavic 3 Pro unmanned aerial vehicle was used to photograph the territory from different heights and angles. A professional camera was applied for detailed recording of facades with cross angles to increase reconstruction accuracy of geometry in the digital model. The next stage involved processing the photos via Lightroom to sort and ensure photo quality, generating a 3D model in specialized 3DF Zephyr software. It allowed generation of 3D point clouds of objects. There was final processing of the model in Blender with subsequent model integration into the Revit architectural environment. The created 3D model accurately reflects the damage scale. It is a basis for analyzing the condition of the damaged monument and planning restoration work.

The SumDU team conducted the survey in compliance with current legislation. They followed permissions and deadlines, without risk to the civilian population. The team preserved all data for further transfer to state and international institutions.

The initiators are convinced that creation of a 3D damage model will contribute to protection and study of cultural heritage. We will be able to record crimes committed against civilian infrastructure. We would create a digital archive of the destroyed city environment.