The chief of the “Religion on Fire” project, Ruslan Khalikov, told a press conference about the efforts to document Russian war crimes against religious sites across Ukraine.
According to the expert, the destruction of over 500 temples, churches, and prayer houses has been properly documented so far.
Nine percent of those sites have been completely destroyed, and 16% have been damaged beyond repair. Half of the damage has been inflicted on the churches run by the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Khalikov drew attention to the problem of reconstruction of buildings operated by religious minorities. Large denominations receive international donations, while smaller denominations may be left without funds for reconstruction.
According to the religious expert, civil society should ensure that religious minorities also receive support for the reconstruction of their churches in post-war Ukraine.