According to the Ukrainian authorities, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine, about 500 religious buildings have been damaged in the country, and one in five of them has been completely destroyed.
"We know that 100 churches have been completely destroyed, and 500 are either destroyed or half destroyed or damaged," Viktor Yelensky, head of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, said on the air of the Ukrainian national telethon.
Also, according to him, more than 30 priests were tortured or killed by Russian invaders during the occupation of the territories.
Background. As reported, on July 23, Russians fired missiles at the center of Odesa, destroying historical architecture and residential buildings – the occupiers damaged at least 44 buildings, 25 of which are architectural monuments, including the Transfiguration Cathedral.