In Bakhmut, the invaders damage the Roman Catholic Church and the Word of Life Church

This is reported by Free radio.

Yevhen Tkachov, a public figure from Chasiv Yar, who was in the city this week and saw the damage with his own eyes, told Radio about the hit of Russian invaders on churches in Bakhmut.

He says: in Bakhmut, the roof, bell tower and stained glass windows of the Catholic Church of the Virgin Queen of the Holy Rosary were seriously damaged.

"The windows are broken, and the bell tower and roof are damaged. Catholics in Bakhmut also sustained damages. The "Russian World” targets everything," the man says.

The damaged building is historical. In 1902-1903, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in Bakhmut at the expense of parishioners. By 1917, the local parish had up to 3,200 believers. The Soviet authorities closed the church and used it as an outbuilding.

In April 2005, in what was then called Artemivsk, this abandoned building was officially transferred to the Catholic Church. The church was renovated all these years at the expense of Catholics, mostly foreign faithful.

"With the first priest from Slovakia, we fed homeless people here for 2 years. He said that the communists tolerated them (Catholics in this church — Ed.) until 1924. And then they converted the building first into Kultprosvet, and then just into a warehouse for some city farm — the paints were stored, etc.,” recalls Yevhen Tkachov.

The public showed another Christian church that was recently damaged in Bakhmut.

“This is the Word of Life Church located in a private house in the city center. They helped in 2014-15, when the evacuation from Horlivka, Debaltseve was being carried out — they helped thousands of people. In that church, people were fed and sent forward. Their pastor found shelter and took the entire church community away,” says Yevhen Tkachov.