Artist Maxim Kilderov has assembled a dense archive of battlefield relics in a rented basement near Maidan Square to document Russia’s invasion and the lived experience of occupation. The invite-only collection includes captured documents, uniforms, weapon fragments and a shrapnel-pierced smartphone, anchored by a five-meter painting titled "55" that represents the days he spent under occupation. Kilderov plans to convert the site into a museum and uses art sales—such as Bluetooth speakers made from rocket tubes—to raise funds for military units while warning that wartime solidarity may be eroding.
Basement Battlefield Archive: Artist Preserves Ukraine’s Resistance
Ukrainian street artist Maxim Kilderov stands amid a collection of battlefield artifacts documenting Russia's invasion of Ukraine in his private museum in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
KYIV, Ukraine — Maxim Kilderov has turned a rented basement near Maidan Square into a stark, personal archive of Ukraine’s resistance: scorched metal, torn fabric, captured documents and the intimate debris of lives interrupted by war.
Kilderov’s collection—currently open by invitation—brings together rocket-launch tubes, the diary of a Russian intelligence officer, captured uniforms, helmets, weapon fragments and thousands of military patches that speak to unit pride, defiance and dark humor. A Styrofoam Shahed decoy drone hangs from the ceiling; a smartphone pierced by shrapnel sits among personal effects that hint at the human cost behind battlefield statistics.
Personal History and the Work
Kilderov, a Ukrainian street artist who spent 55 days under Russian occupation in Nova Kakhovka, says these objects are evidence that the story of the war should not be left to official narratives alone. His 5-meter painting, titled 55, is a maze of colored lines and icons representing those days under occupation and the small acts of resistance he and others carried out.
“I don’t want this to feel like a typical museum where you walk through five halls with similar collections,” he says. “I want one hall that concentrates everything—so people feel emotion when they suddenly find themselves surrounded by these items.”
During occupation Kilderov helped organize underground aid networks, livestreamed life under Russian control and spray-painted abandoned Russian vehicles with his resistance symbols. After escaping, he staged exhibitions, often using blown-up QR codes linking to videos he recorded in 2022.
How the Archive Grows
What began in his home has expanded through military contacts, trades and personal recoveries after nightly air strikes. The collection includes captured documents and passports, knives, grenades, night-vision gear, soldiers’ drawings and half-used cigarette packets—small, human details that bring the larger story into sharp relief.
Kilderov also reclaims battlefield materials for new purposes: he designs unit patches, paints on debris and transforms rocket tubes into Bluetooth speakers, donating most proceeds to military units.
Public Purpose and Warnings
He plans to convert the invite-only site into a public museum designed to convey the emotional weight of conflict—an immersive space intended to preserve lived memory rather than present neutral, detached displays. Kilderov worries that the wartime solidarity he experienced risks fading as inequality and division return to civilian life.
When interviewed he wore a red MAGA hat as a deliberate, ironic gesture to underline Ukraine’s dependence on foreign aid that can be paused or withdrawn—an uncomfortable reminder of geopolitical vulnerability.
In Kyiv, his basement has become a gathering point for soldiers and civilians who bring new artifacts and stories, continually expanding a raw record of resistance that Kilderov hopes will keep collective memory alive.
Contributors: Volodymyr Yurchuk and Dan Bashakov in Kyiv contributed to this report.
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