Temples under fire: 16 unique churches destroyed during the war

At least 494 religious buildings, religious schools and shrines have been destroyed, damaged or looted by the Russian military in Ukraine. This data was published by the Institute for Religious Freedom at the beginning of the year. Most facilities were destroyed in Donetsk region (over 120) and Luhansk region (over 70). Large-scale destruction was recorded in Kharkiv, Kherson and Kyiv regions.

To draw attention to the damage done to the spiritual, cultural, and historical heritage of Ukraine and to promote the restoration of churches in the future, a team of civil society activists created the online project Temples Under Fire. On a digital platform, they publish photo and video footage of destruction and damage to religious buildings of various denominations collected during expeditions.

“All religions and denominations represented in Ukraine suffer losses without exception. For example, a mosque in Bakhmut was completely destroyed, a Krishna temple in Kramatorsk, a house of prayer of Evangelical Christians-Baptists in Druzhkivka, a wooden church of the OCU in Ruski Tyshky, and so on. However, the largest number of destroyed and damaged churches belong to religious communities of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate – more than 80 and more than 200, respectively,” the authors of the project say.

So far, materials on 16 church sites in Donetsk and Kharkiv regions have been collected, of which 8 have been processed and published on the digital platform Temples Under Fire.

“We tried to choose religious buildings of different denominations: OCU, UOC, Baptists, Protestants, Muslims, etc. We focused on the settlements where the fiercest battles took place,” the authors comment on the project. 

The project will be expanded and replenished with processed materials from religious buildings in other regions of Ukraine that suffer from Russian aggression.

Photo: press service