Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, saw a hundred historical buildings destroyed or nearly completely destroyed by the bombardments. Cultural services in several cities of Ukraine are working together to preserve the national heritage.

French engineer Emmanuel Durand is a specialist in 3D data collection. He crosses a tangle and walks over countless rubble to place his laser scanner, a type of tripod with a swiveling heads, in a corner of the fire station. This one was severely damaged by the Russian strikes.

The red brick building, with its watchtower, was built in 1887. It is a symbol of Kharkiv’s industrial revolution at end of 19th century.

Emmanuel Durand takes pictures of the building with his camera. "The scanner captures 500.00 points per second. We will have 10,000,000 points on this station. We will then change stations and travel all around the building, inside and outside, before returning to our original station. One billion points ..."

To virtually rebuild the building, Durand gathers all data from a computer in the evening. The final result can be reconstructed at 5 millimeters. It can be turned in any direction or cut into pieces. The craters left by the blasts that shook the structure can be seen as well.

As a volunteer, Mr. Durand travels to Kyiv, Lviv and Cherniguiv with his scanner. He is accompanied by engineers, architects, specialists in historic architectures, and a director of the museum.

Bad weather, work, visits, and new explosions can all lead to buildings that are weaker. You must accurately record all details to be able stabilize them," and keep their memories accurate, says Kateryna Kouplytska. She is a member the commission that is responsible for identifying historic sites damaged.

"The damage registration will also be used in criminal trials. We see significant damage to our heritage all over the country. It's a genocide against the Ukrainian people, and a genocide against Ukrainian culture," she stated.

This recording work is futile when the war on terror continues and more people die every day. "Culture forms the basis of all things. Tetyana Pylypchouk is a member of the commission and also the director of the museum. Literature of Kharkiv.

To protect her collections from damage by war, and to avoid Russian vandalism in case of fall of Kharkiv, she had them sent to the west Ukraine.