Many families and religious buildings were affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Around 494 churches, mosques, and synagogues buildings were reportedly destroyed, damaged, and robbed due to the war.
Destroyed Religious Buildings in Ukraine
A report from the World Council of Churches stated that most places of worship, including mosques, churches, and synagogues, are destroyed in the occupied territories of Ukraine known as Donetsk (at least 120) and Luhansk (more than 70). The level of destruction is also high in the region surrounding Kyiv. As mentioned, desperate battles were fought to defend the capital and the areas surrounding Kherson and Kharkiv. In addition, more than 50 religious structures were destroyed in each region.
Even though the eastern parts of the country have been hit the hardest, damaged religious places can be found all over Ukraine, from Chernihiv in the north to Kherson in the south. Almost every region of Ukraine has been hit by Russian air strikes on civilian targets, including assaults carried out by drones. These attacks are still going on to this day.
In addition, the Institute for Religious Freedom has documented several instances in which religious structures in Ukraine have been seized to be used as Russian military bases or to conceal the firing positions of Russian forces.IRF Ukraine has also recorded that the Russian military and intelligence services have targeted attacks on religious leaders and followers, most of which have taken place in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Moreover, believers and clerics were frequently singled out for persecution by the Russian authorities who occupied Ukraine on account of their use of the Ukrainian language, their membership in a different religious denomination, or any other aspect of their Ukrainian identity.
According to a detailed report of Christianity Post, the research conducted by the IRF concluded that "the scope of destruction of evangelical church prayer houses is immense." Even though evangelicals only make up less than 5 percent of Ukraine's population, it was determined that at least 170 evangelical sites had been destroyed. It includes 75 Pentecostal churches, 49 Baptist churches, 24 Seventh-day Adventist churches, and 22 "other" evangelical churches.
Furthermore, around 143 damaged buildings belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). It has been long affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and has approximately 80% of the population in Ukraine. On the other hand, only 34 buildings were damaged in the newer and smaller independent Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
Also Read: Massive Attack in Eastern Ukraine Leaves Dozens of Russian Troops Dead
Invasion of Russia in Ukraine
According to Britannica, Russia started a large-scale buildup of soldiers and military equipment along its border with Ukraine between October 2021 and November 2021. Over the subsequent months, additional troops were deployed to Belarus, the Russian-backed separatist enclave of Transdniestria in Moldova, and Russian-occupied Crimea. As of February 2022, Western defense analysts estimated that more than 190,000 Russian soldiers were encircling Ukraine, and they issued a warning that an invasion by Russia was imminent. Putin refuted these allegations and claimed that the simultaneous buildup of Russian naval forces in the Black Sea was part of a training exercise that had been planned.
The Western leaders consulted with Zelensky and Putin to forestall a Russian invasion that appeared to be unavoidable. As a result, Putin issued demands that included a de facto veto power over the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) expansion and its containment of troops in countries that had been members even before 1997. It would mean that the security umbrella of NATO would no longer cover eastern and southern Europe and the Baltic nations. However, the suggestions were firmly turned down, and the invasion of Russia continued, resulting in multiple destructions in Ukraine up to this day.
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