The destruction by Russians of an Orthodox Christian church in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine

Russia continues with its attacks against Christian churches in Ukraine, as part of its systematic attacks against civilian targets.

Russia has attacked nearly 600 Christian churches in Ukraine: what propagandists are keeping quiet about
Russia's cruelty against the churches in Ukraine and its care with the mosques

This Friday, through its Telegram channel, the Pokrovsk Vicariate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine published a video and two photos of the destruction of the Church of the Holy Blessed Prince Igor of Chernihiv in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk, by a Russian attack. You can see the video released by the vicariate here, showing the damage inside and outside the church:

The attacked church belongs to the Gorlovka and Slavyansk Diocese. Its foundation stone was laid on September 10, 2012. "In the spring of 2013, the church was crowned with domes, and the first prayer service was held there on October 2 of the same year, but construction continued for almost four more years," the diocese said. It is a small temple, 15 meters long, "but at the top, its five domes shining in the sun are visible from afar", the diocese noted in its file on this church, which showed this photo.

Its golden domes are now gone. The Union of Orthodox Journalists noted on Friday: "as a result of shelling, the domes and roof of the church have been completely destroyed, and the walls have been significantly damaged."

As you could read here on March 27, Russia has attacked 596 Christian churches in Ukraine from February 24, 2022 to February 2025. Most of the temples (396) were Orthodox Christians. The Russians have also attacked 24 Catholic Christian buildings and 176 Protestant Christian buildings, as well as 17 Jewish buildings, 8 Muslim buildings, 15 buildings of other denominations and 9 religious educational institutions, all as part of a systematic wave of attacks against the civilian population as part of a strategy of terror that seeks to compensate with these war crimes for Russia's lack of progress on the battlefield.

A report published two months ago (see PDF) by the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture noted that Russia has attacked 642 religious buildings in Ukraine. Of these, 53 were completely destroyed, 97 were severely damaged, 157 were moderately damaged, and 255 were slightly damaged. A relevant fact is that Russia is especially cruel to Christian temples but more careful with mosques.

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Photos: Покровське вікаріатство / Горловской и Славянской епархии.