President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that the Russian occupiers had killed 50 priests and destroyed about 700 churches since the large-scale invasion.
The head of the Ukrainian state spoke of this in an interview with CBN, Ukrinform reports.
“The Russians treat various Ukrainian churches something like schools. That is, wherever they advanced into our territories, they destroyed schools and churches. Simply so that no trace of them remains. So a lot of different priests were captured or killed. They killed 50 clergymen. They killed them in different ways. There is evidence of how they tortured them. Why did they torture them? Only because they ‘should’ have served Patriarch Kirill and their church, but the priest is supposed to serve people and God,” Zelensky said.
He also noted that churches are also targeted by the invaders.
“What have they gained by destroying about 700 churches? They attacked them with bombs, missiles… And wherever they would enter the territory of our state, they would simply set them on fire,” the president noted.
As reported earlier, referring to the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications, as of October 25, 2024, a total of 2,109 cultural infrastructure facilities in Ukraine were damaged or destroyed as a result of Russia’s full-scale aggression.