Russia destroyed 596 Christian churches in Ukraine during the Great War – Ministry of Culture
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine has released new data on the scale of destruction of religious buildings as a result of Russian aggression. As of February 2, 2025, the occupiers damaged or completely destroyed 642 religious buildings, of which 596 were Christian churches.
Source: MCSCUkraine
“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has been purposefully destroying not only cities, infrastructure and cultural heritage sites, but also religious buildings in Ukraine,” the Ministry of Culture said.
Religion on fire: the scale of destruction
According to the Religion on Fire project, Donetsk region suffered the greatest losses. In the region, 19 religious sites were completely destroyed, and a total of 131 religious buildings were damaged, including 81 Christian churches.
One of the victims of the barbaric shelling was the Church of the Archangel Michael in the village of Novomykhailivka. The Russian occupiers finally destroyed it, although in Soviet times they tried to wipe the shrine off the face of the earth: in 1932 the church was turned into a granary, then a mill, and later it was decided to completely destroy it. It was only in the 1980s that its restoration began, but today this shrine lies in ruins again.
Destroyed churches that survived wars and Soviet destruction
Another lost spiritual center was the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary near Pokrovsk. This religious building survived two world wars and the Soviet persecution of religion. In 1937, the Bolsheviks closed the church and confiscated all its valuables. However, even after numerous trials, the shrine survived until 2024, when it was destroyed by Russian shelling.
The Russian attacks on Christian churches in Ukraine are part of a large-scale destruction of the spiritual heritage and religious identity of Ukrainians.
An appeal to the international community
Ukraine calls on international organizations and religious communities around the world not to remain silent about these crimes. The destruction of churches and monasteries is not only the destruction of historical monuments, but also an encroachment on fundamental religious freedoms.
