UKRAINE: An exceptional report about Russia’s destruction of churches
A documented report with a lot of photos of Serhiy Okunev published by the Kharkiv Human Protection Group with the support of DIGNITY — the Danish Institute against Torture
HRWF/ KHPG (20.05.2025) – A few days before the “truce” announced by the Russian dictator Putin, Russian troops launched a double strike on the church of the Monk Ambrose of Optin in Dobropil, destroyed and damaged churches in Pokrovsk, Toretsk, Kostyantynivka. Journalist Serhiy Okunev brought fresh information from frontline cities about Russian attacks on churches.
Attacks on temples are a war crime
As of last autumn, it was known that more than 600 religious buildings in Ukraine had already been destroyed or damaged as a result of Russian aggression. The examples given in this material may indicate that this figure only increases over time.
Military attacks on religious sites, including temples, are a war crime. This is determined both by the general provisions on the protection of civilian objects and by individual references in international humanitarian law.
Thus, Article 53 of Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 1977 prohibits:
- acts of hostility against historical monuments, works of art, religion, etc.;
- the use of such facilities in support of military efforts;
- reprisals against them.
According to Article 8(2)(b)(ix) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), it is considered a crime to “deliberately target attacks against buildings dedicated to religion … provided that they are not military objects”. As the lawyers explain, for the possibility of bringing a person to justice under this article, it is required that the attack be deliberately directed against the institution of a cult purpose, and not an act where the criminal was indifferent to the consequences of his actions. Otherwise, it will be about qualification under another, more general article.
Documented cases in Donetsk regions under Kiyv rule
See the report HERE with photos and description of the damage:
Dobropillia: The church of St. Ambrose of the Optician Orthodox Church
Toresk: The St. Makarievsky Church
Pokrovskaya: The church of Archangel Michael (or St. Michael’s Church of Pokrovskaya) – The main church and office of the Pokrovsky Vicariate, the church of the Equal-to-Apostles Prince Volodymyr the Great City of Pokrovsk – The church of St. John Chrysostom – Church of St. John Zlatostom in Pokrovsk – The temple of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Volodymyr the Great – The Church of Constantine and Elena in Pokrovsk – The Mykolaiv Church – The Church of St. Demetrius – The Chapel of the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God
Kosiantynivka: The Church of the Holy Prince Igor of Chernihiv
See also another report of the Kharkiv Human Protection Group “Torture or priests and destruction of temples” (27.02.2024) abundantly illustrated. Authors: Mykola Komarovsky and Yevhen Zakharov
Photo : Church of the Holy Prince Igor of Chernihiv in the city of Kostyantynivka, photo provided by the Pokrovsky Vicariate
