The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture is mapping this destruction, with the aim of “documenting war crimes against humanity and against cultural heritage committed by the Russian army.”
Gaudium Press English Edition
Newsdesk (12/04/2022 8:30 AM, Gaudium Press) After the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, last week denounced the destruction of at least 44 churches and religious buildings in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, it is now the turn of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture to bring updated data.
According to the Ukrainian state body, Russian troops and bombing have destroyed at least 59 churches in eight regions of Ukraine.
Aggressive attack by Russian troops
“While Kremlin propagandists cynically cover up their own imperial ambitions with the argument of ‘defending Orthodoxy,’ the aggressive attack by Russian troops is destroying churches and other shrines in Ukraine’s religious communities,” says a statement from the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture.
Among the Ukrainian regions hardest hit by these Russian attacks are the cities of Kiev, Donetsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhia, Lugansk, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv. The Ukrainian government particularly regrets the destruction of the Severodonetsk church, which houses the popular icon of the Virgin of Joy, invoked by all those who suffer.
Mapping the convents and churches destroyed by the war
To assist in the mapping of all convents and churches destroyed by the war, the Ministry of Culture has released a phone number and email address to which Ukrainians can report further destruction.
Based on the information received, an interactive map is being created on which consultations can be made. The aim of this initiative is also to “document war crimes against humanity and against cultural heritage committed by the Russian army.” (EPC)
Compiled by Roberta MacEwan
