Zelensky says Russian bombings destroyed 113 churches in Ukraine since invasion

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian artillery “destroyed” 113 churches during “the full-scale war” with Ukraine.

In his Saturday night speech, Zelensky said: “Among them are the old ones – those who resisted the Second World War but did not resist the Russian occupation.”

“There are also those that were built after 1991. The reconstruction of the “Skete of All Saints” at Sviatohirsk Lavra began in 2001. June 10 would be another anniversary of the start of construction,” he said.

At the beginning of Saturday, the CNN reported that All Saints Church (Skate of All Saints) in Sviatohirsk Lavra was “destroyed” by Russian bombing.

Zelensky noted in his speech that “this is not the first Lavra bombing” and “three Lavra monks were killed by Russian bombing on Wednesday. Services are forced to be held in the basement.”

According to the president, the sounds of incoming Russian artillery are “constant” at Lavra.

Zelensky pointed out that Sviatohirsk Lavra “belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is still considered in Moscow to be linked to the Russian Orthodox Church, but even that does not stop the Russian army.”

In light of the “support of the Orthodox hierarchs in Russia for the aggression against Ukraine”, Zelensky asked the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to “draw conclusions”.

“The Russian army can stop burning churches. Russian army can stop destroying cities. The Russian army can stop killing children. If the same person in Moscow gives such an order. And the fact that there is still no such order is an obvious humiliation for the entire world,” he said.