Kremlin mass media and z-telegram channels are distributing videos of the fire that engulfed an Orthodox church in Ukraine. Propagandists claim that this church belongs to the UOC (MP) and is located in the village of Novopavlivka, Mykolaiv region, and that it was set on fire by “separatists” or “security forces,” reports Ukrinform.
These propagandist messages are false. The video they show to back their claim was filmed more than 10 years ago in the village of Ilyinka in Russia’s Astrakhan region.
The Russian media even wrote about it back then. Among the causes of the fire were short circuits and a falling candle. Since then, they even managed to rebuild the temple.
At the same time, according to the data of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnopolicies and Freedom of Conscience, as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as of September 20, 2022, at least 270 religious buildings in 14 regions of Ukraine were completely destroyed or sustained damage of varying degrees. Of them, 260 are Christian. Most of the churches were destroyed in Donetsk (67) and Luhansk (58) regions. At least 136 such churches belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (MP).
