Zelensky: Russians destroyed 700 churches and killed 50 priests in Ukraine
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian troops have destroyed about 700 churches and killed 50 Ukrainian priests since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. The head of state said this in an interview with CBN.
Source: CBN
According to Zelensky, the Russians do not distinguish between education and religion. In each captured settlement, they destroy schools and churches, seeking to erase any signs of Ukrainian culture and spirituality.
“Russians destroy churches in the same way as schools. They simply leave no trace. A lot of priests have suffered from this – some have been taken prisoner and some have been killed. In particular, 50 priests were killed, often tortured,” the President noted.
Zelenskyy emphasized that these priests suffered only because they refused to serve the interests of the Moscow Patriarchate. They remained faithful to their vocation to serve God and people, not Patriarch Kirill or the Russian Church.
In addition to the personal tragedies of the clergy, Zelensky emphasized that Russian attacks are also aimed at religious sites. Churches in Ukraine are subjected to massive shelling, and in the occupied territories they are deliberately destroyed.
“What did they get by destroying about 700 churches? They attacked them with missiles, bombs, and where they entered our lands, they simply set them on fire,” Zelensky emphasized.
The President expressed confidence that all these crimes will not go unpunished, and the international community must do everything possible to bring the perpetrators to justice.
