Zelenskyy tells how many priests and churches Russia killed and destroyed in Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (photo: president.gov.ua)
Since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian soldiers have already killed 50 clergymen. The enemy army has also destroyed about 700 churches, states President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with СBN.
The Head of State noted that the Russian forces treat various Ukrainian churches like schools.
“They would ruin schools and churches,” the president said.
According to Zelenskyy, a large number of priests of various denominations were captured or killed.
“They killed 50 priests - they killed them in different ways. There is all the evidence of how they tortured them. For what? Only because they had to serve Patriarch Kirill and their church. But the priests simply refused, because a priest serves the people,” the president said.
Zelenskyy also spoke about the destruction of churches in Ukraine by the Russian State Property Committee as a result of both shelling and arson.
The head of state said they ruined over 700 church buildings. They attacked with bombs and missiles. And where they entered the territory of our state, they simply set them on fire.
Last April, Zelenskyy said that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia had destroyed hundreds of churches, as well as more than 60 museums and galleries in Ukraine.
It was also reported that in July 2024, the Russian forces fired missiles at Odesa, one of which hit the Transfiguration Cathedral. The shelling seriously damaged the church building and the roof.
In April of this year, the ICIP reported that the Russian invasion of Ukraine had damaged 1974 cultural infrastructure facilities. Of these, 321 were completely destroyed.
