Activists are fighting to rescue Ukraine’s rich Soviet-era architecture amid the devastation caused by Russia’s invasion.

“It’s difficult to talk about history preservation while people are being killed,” says Ievgeniia Gubkina”. “However, heritage is more than simply bricks and mortar. “Heritage is a collection of memories.”

Gubkina, like many others in her area, has been debating how to conserve Ukraine’s architectural history in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion, which has resulted in widespread destruction. In April, UNESCO reported that at least 98 cultural and religious monuments in Ukraine had been damaged or destroyed.

The threat to religious structures, museums, and other pre-Soviet architecture has gotten a lot of international attention. Ukraine has seven World Heritage sites and 15 more on the “tentative” list, according to UNESCO.

Ukraine’s rich heritage of Soviet-era modernist architecture, on the other hand, receives far less attention, is less likely to be saved, and is loaded with political and historical debate.