Russian airstrikes destroy historic winery in Kherson Oblast
Destroyed Trubetskoi winery in Kherson Oblast (Photo: Instagram @stoicwinery)
Two targeted Russian FAB-500 aerial bombs have completely destroyed one of Ukraine’s oldest wineries in Kherson Oblast.
The Prince Trubetskoi Winery was reduced to rubble in Russian airstrikes, according to videos published on Feb. 12 by pro-Russian Telegram channels. The footage shows the moments of impact. The 19th-century château and a nearby storage facility were wiped out, sommelier Oleh Novoselov said on Facebook.
Founded 130 years ago, the winery had survived both world wars. It was looted hours after Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. Russian forces removed the entire wine collection, assembled over generations, including seven bottles dating back to the early 20th century, when Prince Trubetskoi established the estate.
The property was liberated in November 2022 after Russian troops were pushed from the west bank of the Dnipro River. Reconstruction began soon afterward, and the winery was rebranded.
“We respect the history and the work of our founder, the Russian prince Trubetskoi, but we believe our identity and future should not be tied to a Russian prince,” the company said at the time.
Under the new name Stoic Winery, the business continued operations, producing wines from other vineyards, including a new line called Dnipro Hills.
Serhii Klimov, an industry expert and owner of the Ukrainian wine bar UWINES, wrote on Instagram that he had spoken with the winery’s team. Architectural drawings of the destroyed buildings have been preserved, and there is hope production can eventually be restored when conditions allow.
Social media users also reacted to the destruction. In comments under Novoselov’s post, Solomiya Manujlyk Novytska wrote: “Such a shame, it was such delicious wine.” Valentina Reina added: “So much effort, resources and love were invested there… it’s terrible.” On Instagram, user elena.orlovskaya said she had visited the château in the summer of 2021 and described the trip to Kherson Oblast as one of her warmest memories.
Svitlana Diakova, CEO and partner at Diakovs Wine Family, wrote on her page: “Thank you to everyone who reached out in recent days and feels this pain as well. And thank you to those who wanted to write but chose not to add more pain.”
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