It became known how many priests were killed by the occupiers in Ukraine
13 January 17:20
Since February 24, 2022, the Russian occupiers have killed more than 40 priests and pastors. This statistic was announced by the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience Viktor Yelensky during a press conference, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
“During this war, more than 40 priests and pastors were killed, and 630 religious buildings were destroyed or damaged,” Yelensky said.
He added that in Ukraine, cases of abduction of clergy were also recorded in the occupied territories. For example, on February 14, a priest of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Stepan Podolchak, was abducted in the Kherson region.
“When the Russian Federation declares its desire to protect the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, it should be protected from Russia in the first place. During the war, 14 priests of this church were killed, more than 100 churches were destroyed, and almost 200 were damaged,” Yelenskyy said.
Earlier, Ukrinform published a story about the murders and torture of priests in the Kherson region.
It refers, in particular, to the priest of the OCU in the village of Kalanchak , Stepan Podolchak. According to employees of the village military administration, the Russian army took the priest from his home on February 13. The man was not even allowed to put on shoes and was put in a bag over his head. Two days later, his wife was called to identify the body.
In addition to this case, since the beginning of the full-scale occupation of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the following clergymen have also been reported dead:
- father Job, a monk of the OCU, was killed by the Russian occupiers in the village of Bucha. The body was dumped into a manhole in a garage;
- priest Maxim Kozachina, who was serving in a church near the town of Ivankiv, Kyiv region, was shot dead. Before that, the occupiers tried to take away the priest’s car;
- hegumen of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine Platon (Roman Morgunov) died at the hands of the Russian occupiers in Volnovakha on March 11, 2022;
- archpriest Rostislav Dudarenko died on March 5, 2022, near the church in the village of Yasnohorodka in the Kyiv region. He and his sexton Ivan were standing at a checkpoint organized by local volunteers.
Among the religious buildings that were damaged or destroyed by the Russian military were the following monasteries, temples, cathedrals, chapels, and churches:
- Sviatohirsk Lavra in Donetsk region. It was damaged by Russian artillery on March 12, 2022;
- Holy Dormition Cathedral in Kharkiv, which was damaged by Russian artillery on March 3, 2022;
- the Church of the Ascension in the village of Lukianivka in the Kyiv region, which was destroyed by Russian artillery on March 24, 2022;
- the Church of the Ascension in the village of Lukianivka in the Kyiv region, which was destroyed by Russian artillery on March 24, 2022, and others.