Russia destroys unique 300-year-old Cossack church in Kherson region
The church was built in 1726 (Photo: berislav-mr.gov.ua)
Key points:
- It was one of the few religious buildings left largely undamaged. After the liberation of the right-bank Kherson region,
- It was considered a unique example of Zaporizhzhian Cossack wooden church architecture and had survived nearly 300 years of history.
- Built in 1726 without a single metal nail, the church was a nationally protected architectural monument.
- A Russian drone destroyed St. Vvedenska Church in Beryslav, Kherson region, on August 2.
Russian drone destroys 18th-century landmark
St. Vvedenska Church burned down on August 2 following another Russian attack on Beryslav. Preliminary reports indicate the fire was caused by a drone strike.
Known locally as the wooden church, it remained one of the last religious landmarks in the liberated part of the Kherson region that had escaped major damage from Russian shelling.
Why the church was unique
The church was built from oak in 1726. Its most remarkable feature was that craftsmen assembled the entire structure without using a single metal nail, securing the wooden framework with wooden pegs instead.
It was a rare example of the Middle Dnipro architectural tradition and one of the few surviving examples of Zaporizhzhian Cossack church architecture.
In 1785, Cossacks from the Poltava region dismantled the church, floated it down the Dnipro River on rafts from Perevolochna to the Kyzykermen Fortress, which later became the city of Beryslav.
The church was originally erected in the city center and dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ. In 1853, it was relocated to the Vvedenske Cemetery and renamed St. Vvedenska Church.
It survived the Bolsheviks and World War II - but not Russia's invasion
After Soviet rule was established, the church was closed and used as a warehouse. At one point, authorities even considered dismantling it for firewood.
Religious services resumed during World War II, when German forces established a military cemetery around the church.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion, the church remained under the administration of the Nova Kakhovka Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).
In August 2023, the Beryslav City Military Administration asked Ukraine's Ministry of Culture to return the monument to state ownership, but the issue remained unresolved.
According to local authorities, the church's former rector, Oleksandr Mykhailenko, collaborated with the Russian occupation administration and left the region alongside Russian forces after the liberation of the right-bank Kherson region. He was later replaced by Father Mykola Ponych.
One of Ukraine's best-known wooden churches
A photograph of St. Vvedenska Church by Oleh Marchuk was selected among the best entries in the "Wooden Architectural Heritage of Ukraine" category of the international Wiki Loves Monuments 2025 photo competition.
Today, Beryslav has been devastated by constant Russian shelling. According to the head of the city's military administration, Oleksandr Alchiiev, only about 300 residents remain.
Earlier, we reported that in April, a Russian aerial bomb destroyed a historic children's sports facility in the center of Sloviansk.
