The assassination of a Ukrainian priest by the Russians while distributing humanitarian aid

@ElentirENG ESУК 6·16·2023 · 7:04 0

The Russian invaders continue with their crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population and with their indiscriminate attacks, also against churches.

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This Tuesday, Andrey Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, announced the Russian army's attack on an orthodox church in Bilozerka, a town in southern Ukraine located in the Kherson region. Russian artillery hit the churchyard and killed the priest, also wounding a 76-year-old woman.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced that the murdered priest's name was Mykola Palagniuk and pointed out that "it was at that moment distributing humanitarian aid" to the people affected by the floods caused by the recent blowing up of the Kajovka dam at the hands of the Russians.

It so happens that the murdered priest was a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. As reported on Tuesday the official website of that Church, Father Mykola was the abbot of the Church of St. John the Baptist of Belozerka and dean of the Belozersky district. The priest was 69 years old and was beheaded and had his arms amputated due to the Russian bombardment.

Russian attacks against religious centers have been constant since the start of the invasion on February 24, 2022. Different religious denominations have been affected, especially the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (autocephalous ) and the Catholic Church, but also the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Evangelical Churches, the Jewish Community and some Muslim mosques.

This Wednesday, June 14, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate denounced the Russian attack on one of its temples, the Church of the Holy Prince Volodymyr in Odessa, which was partially destroyed. These two images correspond to that attack.

According to UNESCO data updated on June 12, since the start of the current invasion, 112 religious centers, 22 museums, 93 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 19 monuments, 12 bookstores and an archive have been attacked. We are facing an invasion whose objectives go beyond the physical elimination of the Ukrainian people, including the military and civilians of all ages: Russia seems determined to wipe Ukrainian culture off the map, as they have already tried in their time the communists during the Soviet dictatorship.

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Photos: Andrey Yermak / Ukrainian Orthodox Church.