From the first days of the full-scale invasion, Russia has been waging a targeted war not only against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, but also against the country’s spiritual heritage, destroying religious buildings.
This was reported by the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine.
According to the monitoring project “Religion on Fire”, which records Russia’s crimes against religious sites, as of February 2, 2025, the Russian army had either damaged or completely destroyed 642 religious buildings across Ukraine. Of these, the vast majority, 596, are Christian churches of various denominations.
Donetsk region is the one that suffered the greatest losses
The greatest destruction was suffered by Donetsk region, where the catastrophic consequences of Russian aggression targeting religious infrastructure were recorded. In Donetsk region, 19 religious sites were completely destroyed, and a total of 131 suffered damage of varying degrees. Among the affected structures were 81 Christian churches.
Examples of destroyed shrines:
Archangel Michael Church in Novomykhailivka:
The village of Novomykhailivka in Donetsk region was virtually wiped off the face of the earth by Russian shelling, and along with the village, the local church of Archangel Michael was also destroyed. The shrine has had a tragic history of destruction since Soviet times. In 1932, the temple was shut down to be converted into a granary, and later into a mill. Later, the Soviet authorities decided to completely demolish the temple. Only in the 1980s did restoration work begin, giving hope for the revival of the shrine. However, Russian aggression dealt a new blow to the temple, destroying it for the second time.
Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary near Pokrovsk:
Another victim of Russian shelling was the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located near Pokrovsk. This unique religious building survived two world wars and the anti-religious campaign of the Soviet authorities. In 1937, the Bolsheviks closed the temple, confiscating all church values. Despite these trials, the temple survived and continued to operate until 2024, when it was affected by Russian shelling.
The examples given are only part of the horrifying statistics of the destruction that Ukrainian religious buildings are experiencing as a result of Russian aggression. The deliberate destruction of churches and other religious objects is not only a war crime, but also an act of vandalism against the spiritual heritage of the Ukrainian people.
