On the night of May 3, the Russian army attacked Shostka in the Sumy region, damaging a church, residential houses, an educational institution, and various infrastructure facilities.
This was reported by Shostka Mayor Mykola Noha on Facebook, according to Suspilne.
On the night of May 3, the Russian military launched an air attack on Shostka, causing significant damage. An icon was damaged, windows were smashed, and the roof and dome of the local church, Church of the Holy Virgin, which has been in operation for over 30 years, were severely affected. The rector of the church, Ihor Drabochuk, stated that while there had been explosions near the church before, this attack caused the most destruction.
"As you can see, the windows were blown out. Thank God the icons are intact; only one was damaged. However, the roof was blown off, and the central dome is now wobbly," said the rector.
Ihor Drabochuk lives just a hundred meters away from the church. He described how he first heard a 'whistle', followed by the sound of an explosion, and then flames. He rushed to see what had happened to the church when the Russian military struck again nearby.
"I opened the church and went inside. I heard another sound, so I quickly ran out and took cover behind a small house on the property. I felt it was safer to move away from the building to avoid shrapnel. The next four hits were terrifying; one of them landed about 15 meters away from our garage," Ihor Drabochuk recalls.