While Kremlin propagandists are cynically covering their imperial ambitions with statements about “protecting Orthodox faith”, the aggressive attack of the Russian military ruins Orthodox temples and other spiritual sites.
According to the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience, since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine on February 24, at least 59 spiritual sites have been badly affected in at least eight regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia, Luhansk, Sumy, Kharkiv and Chernihiv. Most of them are Orthodox churches. The damage was also inflicted upon mosques, synagogues, Protestant churches, religious education institutions and important administrative buildings of religious organizations. The interactive map allows to see all affected sites together as well as by a particular religious community.
On March 24, as a result of shelling in the city of Sievierodonetsk, the temple of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God “Joy of All Who Sorrow” was damaged. It is located in the hospital territory in Sievierodonetsk. The altar part of the temple was damaged. One of the windows in the altar apse was broken and part of the ceiling collapsed.
On March 23, as a result of military attacks in the town of Rubizhne, the parish in honor of the Blessed Matron of Moscow (Ukrainian Orthodox Church) was damaged by shelling ‒ an adapted room for worship and a newly built church.
On March 21, the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (Ukrainian Orthodox Church) in Avdiivka was damaged by occupiers’ attack.
Recently, ammunition exploded near the Church of St. Mary Magdalene (UOC). As a result, the church building glass, the dome, and the porch were broken; the front door and the fence were broken on both sides. The temple facing was damaged by shelling debris. Both chapels were also badly damaged.
The shelling destroyed the Church of Christ the Savior of Evangelical Baptists in Mariupol.
Russian attacks severely damaged St. Michael’s Cathedral in Mariupol.
In Mariupol, a city under severe shelling of invaders, the Chapel of the Holy Martyr Tetiana at the Azov State Technical University is damaged.
On March 20, between 8 and 10 o’clock in the morning, about thirty mortar shells hit the premises of the Irpin Bible Seminary. An explosive charge also flew under the roof.
On March 19, the Islamic Cultural Center “Bismillah” in the city of Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk region, suffered from the night shelling of the Russian occupiers.
On the night of March 16-17, the church of the Smolensk Icon of the Mother of God (UOC) was damaged by artillery shell fragments in the Kholodna Hora district of Kharkiv. The roof of the church was destroyed, windows and doors were broken, church utensils were damaged.
On Tuesday, March 15, in the morning, the rocket hit the building of the yeshiva of the Kharkiv Jewish community on 17 Chobotarskа Street. The building is the second synagogue used for the boys’ school and dormitory.
On March 15, in Mariupol, the Russians destroyed the office building of the Donetsk Diocese of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
On March 14, Russian artillery damaged the building of the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS) in Kyiv. UETS was founded in 1992 and provided comprehensive training to ministers from Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Moldova, and Russia.
On March 13, as a result of military attacks, the church of St. Theodosius of Chernihiv (UOC) in the Yatseve cemetery in Chernihiv was set on fire.
During the shelling of the city of Lysychansk on March 13, 2022. one of the artillery shells hit the territory of St. Tikhvin Church (UOC). The church and the chapel were partially damaged, the windows were broken.
On March 12, 2022, the Russian army shelled the Mosque of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Roxolana in Mariupol, where almost 90 people are hiding (photos are not available).
On March 12, in Donetsk region, during bombing of Sviatohirsk, a city with peaceful civilian population, Sviatohirska Lavra was partly ruined.
Фото: Держспецзв’язок
On March 12, during the shelling of the Tarasivka village (Zherdovo) in the Brovary district, one of the shells exploded near the House of Prayer of the Ukrainian Church of Evangelical Faith Christians. Premises were damaged.
On March 12, in Volnovakha city of Donets region, Russian shelling damaged the temple of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
During the night from March 11 to March 12, shelling of the village of Pyatyhatky, Kharkiv region, damaged the church of the Holy Faithful Queen Tamara.
On March 10, the shelling by the Russian occupiers destroyed the Church in honor of the prophet Elijah and the Apostle Andrew the First-Called in the village of Mostyshche, Fastiv district, Kyiv region.
On March 10, the shelling of Sievierodonetsk by Russian invaders partially destroyed the Nativity of Christ Cathedral.
On March 9, as a result of shelling, the church of the Kyiv Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in honor of Apostoles Peter and Paul in the city of Bucha, Kyiv region. The dome of the church was damaged, windows were shot, the well and administrative buildings on the territory of the church were destroyed.
On March 9, an explosive wave from the shelling of Kharkiv city damaged windows of a synagogue of the United Jewish Community of Ukraine. The synagogue was built in 1913 and was one of the largest in Europe at the time.
On March 9, shelling gravely damaged the St. Tikhon Church (Huliaipole city, Pologiv district, Zaporizhia region).
On the night of March 7 to 8, in Sumy city, the building of the Sumy Theological Seminary of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was damaged as a result of an air raid by a Russian bomber.
Reportedly, in the city of Sumy, three churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were damaged. The dome was damaged in the Church of the Presentation. Five windows were broken in the Panteleimon Church, Two windows were damaged in the Church of St. John the Russian. Photos are not yet available.
Reportedly, in the Sumy district, two churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church were damaged. There is severe damage to the building and yard of the Transfiguration Church in Soldatske village. Windows are broken in the Savior-Transfiguration Church at the Vorozhba village. Photos are not yet available.
On March 7 in Chernihiv, the shelling damaged the Yeletskyi Dormition Monastery (Yeletskyi Uspenskyi manastyr), which was founded in 1069.
On March 7 in Zavorychi village, Brovary district, Kyiv region, the St. George Church burned down because of Russian shelling. This Ukrainian Orthodox Church was built in 1873.
On March 7, a military attack destroyed the 160-year-old wooden church in honor of the Blessed Virgin of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the village of Vyazivka, Zhytomyr Region.
On March 7, the blast wave from the air strike of Byshev city (Kyiv region) ruined windows and doors of the Church of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary. (A photo after the blast is not yet available)
On March 6, in the town of Malyn in Zhytomyr Region, during the shelling by the Russian occupiers, a bomb exploded near the Church of the Intercession in the very center of the town.
On March 6, nearby Irpin’ (Kyiv region) shelling damaged the Church of the Great Martyr George the Victorious.
On March 6 in Nikolske village, Volnovakha district of Donetsk region, an artillery attack damaged Holy Dormition Monastery. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church reports that artillery damaged the rood and monastery bakery.
On March 6, the shelling partially destroyed the House of Prayer of Evangelical Baptists in Izyum, Kharkiv Oblast.
On March 5, in the village of Yasnogorodka (Kyiv region), Russian shelling damaged the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The dome was hit twice, the IFV shell damaged the bell tower. The parish house, which was built near the church, was also damaged. Temple windows and entrance doors were shot from a large-caliber machine gun. (Photos are not yet available)
On March 5, 2022 as a result of the shelling, the Church of the Ascension of the Lord in the village of Bobryk, Kyiv region, was damaged.
On March 3, the building of the Jewish youth organization Hillel was damaged by the shelling.
On March 2, this year the temple in honor of the Holy Myrrh-bearing Women in Kharkiv city received damage due to shelling.
On March 2, 2022 windows and stained glass windows were broken in the Dormition Cathedral of Kharkiv as a result of the shelling, church utensils and decorations were damaged.
On March 2, this year the Kharkiv University St. Anthony’s Church, located in Kharkiv National University named after Karazin received damage as a result of the shelling: all the windows were broken here, church utensils were damaged.
On March 2 in Talakivka village nearby Mariupl city, an artillery attack damaged the main dome, roof and bell tower of the church in honor of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. 30 years ago, in 1992 this temple was built anew on the same site where it had been destroyed during the Soviet times.
On March 1, in Kharkiv, a Russian missile hit curia building of the Kharkiv-Zaporizhzhia diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine.
On March 1, Russian artillery damaged Kostiantynivska mosque and its related building in Kostiantynivka city of the Donetsk region.
On February 28, a military attack resulted into damages to St. Catherine’s Church in Shchasta town (translates from Ukrainian as Happiness) in Luhansk region.
On February 27, as a result of artillery shelling, the domes and roof of St. George’s Church in Nizhyn, Chernihiv Region, were damaged.
On the night of February 27‒28, as a result of combat in Kyiv, the church in honor of St. Joasaph of Bilgorod on the International Square was damaged.
On February 27, the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (UOC) in Novognativka village of Donetsk region was ruined as a result of occupants’ attack. The shell hit the altar area. The altar and the iconostasis were destroyed.
St. Andrew’s Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukrainian was damaged by shelling in Kharkiv on the territory of the National Guard 5th Slobozhansk Brigade military station.
There are reports of damages from shelling to the Holy Prophet Elijah Chapel on the territory of the Kharkiv National University of the Air Force named after Ivan Kozhedub (Kharkiv city). Photos are not yet available.
The enemy attacks caused damages to windows of the National Guard garrison Church of St. George the Victorious (Orthodox Church of Ukraine) in the 3017 military station. It was planned to be completed and consecrated in 2022.
The shelling damaged two churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Volnovakha, Donetsk region ‒ the Transfiguration Church and the Blessed Virgin Icon Church “Joy of All Who Sorrow.”
During the first days of the Russian attack against Ukraine, in Lysychansk city, Luhansk region, the windows and the interior of the second Mitrofanivsky temple as well as its Sunday school were damaged.
Photos from open sources and provided by witnesses.
We kindly encourage to send information, including photos, about damages to spiritual sites and other consequences of the Russian invasion into Ukraine for religious communities to [email protected]. You can also reach out to us by mobile: +38 097 705 38 57.
We also encourage to register as a witness with evidence on the platform of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine for documenting Russia’s army war crimes against humanity and cultural heritage: https://culturecrimes.mkip.gov.ua. Click here to view recorded crimes on this platform.
