The Ukrainian Orthodox Church, in unity with the Moscow Patriarchate, reported the destruction of the Church of the Annunciation in Bakhmut, stopping short of noting that it was the Russians who were to blame for the strike that obliterated the church. Traditionally, the church hushes down the crimes committed by the invasion force.
“On May 8, 2023, a video appeared on social media showing that the Church of the Annunciation in the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, where fierce fighting continues, was almost completely destroyed. Only the annexes and the bell tower remain standing, albeit with damaged roofs,” the UOC (MP) reported.
According to media reports the temple had already come under fire in late October 2022, when its bell tower was damaged. At the same time, the church of All Saints in another part of the town was also damaged.
The construction of the Church of the Annunciation of the Horlivka Diocese in Bakhmut was completed on October 17, 2010.
The 29m-tall building of the church had a wooden carved iconostasis, covered with gold leaf. The interior was painted in the Byzantine style.
A Sunday school operated at the church. The Church of the Annunciation was consecrated in honor of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in memory of the 19th century church in Bakhmut, destroyed by the communist regime.
The UOC (MP) constantly ignores the crimes of the invaders and fails to report that they are the ones who are destroying hundreds of churches in Ukraine. Thus, the Sviatohirsk Lavra of the UOC MP reported on another artillery strike but never mentioned who exactly struck.
On April 7, the Russian occupiers shelled the UOC MP temple in honor of the holy great martyr Dimitry of Thessalonica in the Kharkiv district. However, the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate hushes down the crime of the perpetrators of this sacrilege. Instead, the press service of the UOC MP writes as follows: “As a result of a missile strike, it suffered damage…” or “as a result of shelling…”
