113 Ukrainian churches are damaged or destroyed by Russian shelling — President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that 113 churches in Ukraine had been hit by Russian shelling since the invasion started.
The Skete of All Saints monastery in Lavra, located in Donetsk region of Ukraine, has burned down, becoming the latest religious structure desecrated by the Russian army, Zelenskyy said in his address. Three monks were killed by shelling in Lavra on June 1, 2022.
“During the full-scale war, 113 churches have already been destroyed or damaged by Russian shelling. Among them are the ancient ones — those that withstood World War II, but did not withstand the Russian occupation,” said Zelenskyy.
“There are also those that were built after 1991,” he added, emphasizing the incident in Lavra, “Reconstruction of the Skete of All Saints of the Sviatohirsk Lavra began in 2001. On June 10, 2022, would be another anniversary of the beginning of construction.”
