Russia has destroyed or damaged 640 religious sites and killed 67 priests in Ukraine

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has destroyed approximately 640 religious sites in Ukraine.

This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyі.

According to him, during the full-scale war, 67 Ukrainian priests, pastors and monks were killed or tortured by the Russian military. Russian strikes destroyed or damaged 640 churches, prayer houses and places of worship.

“The Russian army is one of the greatest threats to Christian churches and believers. Just as we are freeing priests and pastors from Russian captivity, just as we are doing everything to protect Ukrainian cities and villages and the lives of people in them,” Zelenskyі said.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution “Countering the Erasure of Cultural Identity in Times of War and Peace.” The document states that the erasure of Ukrainian cultural identity is a tool of Russia’s war against Ukraine and an element of the policy of genocide.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, from February 24, 2022 to October 25, 2024, the Russian Federation destroyed or damaged 2,109 cultural heritage sites. The greatest losses and damage to cultural infrastructure were suffered in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia, and Luhansk regions.